Under the Desert Sun
by ForeverDayDreaming
Summary: Kiara has become stuck in Antolia. She isn't sure why she is here, but the heat of the desert and the eyes of an Egyptian general charm her, and she thinks she might not want to leave. Yuri, Kail and Ramses join Kiara as she lives Under the Desert Sun.
1. Surprise

Kiara: a short person, only 5'5''. she's got long brown hair that has its own mind. Her eyes are deep blue and her skin is a normal pale peach color. She's normal. And 17.

**Under the Desert Sun**

It was a celebration. King Kail Mursili had come to the main temple in Hattsua to take part in the festival for Ishtar. The people had insisted upon having a celebration outside the temple this year to thank the gods for sending Ishtar to them to be their queen more than six years ago.

It was unfortunate that Ishtar herself couldn't come to give her thanks to the people, but she had to stay in the palace since she was near the end of her pregnancy.

Kail had had to come. He watched the proceedings from the throne they had placed on the raised dais and sighed. He was bored. He had other obligations that he wished to attend to and Yuri was at home without him. He didn't like to leave her alone. She often got into trouble and he didn't believe that she would ever lose that habit.

But Illvani had been right. He needed to be here. While he knew that Yuri's arrival in Hattsua had nothing to do with the gods, the people believed she was Ishtar and it was best to go along with the idea. But he had already given his speech to thank the gods and now he had nothing to do but sit and watch.

"Your Highness, at least give the appearance that you are enjoying yourself."

Kail looked at his adviser Illvani and sighed again. He sat straighter in his chair. "You know there is no use for this. Nakia brought Yuri here; not the gods."

"Of course Your Highness, but this has been a long year. The people need something to celebrate."

It had been a long year. The war with Egypt was ended and there was peace in the Orient. But that did not mean all was well. There had been very little rain this year, and the Nile had not been flooding as well of late. The approach of a famine was plain, and if that were to happen, then there would not be much he could do to prevent it.

"Yuri is at home alone. Even carrying child she is capable of causing trouble." Kail decided not to mention the famine. He could not stop such a thing, and he and Illvani had already discussed the measures they would have to take if it came to pass.

"The Sisters will keep an eye on her as always. Your enemies are few now Your Highness. You should rest at ease."

Kail sighed again. Illvani was right. He was simply bored and thinking too much. "You're right. The Hittite Kingdom is at peace. Nothing shall happen."

* * *

Kiara was on her way back to her suite in the hotel. It had been a long night. She would love to sink into a bubble bath, put on some soft music, light some candles, and maybe eat a few cookies.

_Cookies! How long has it been since I had cookies? _She laughed at herself. She'd had to be careful with what she ate. Being the star of the show it was vital that she kept fit and healthy. That also meant giving up on some of her favorite treats.

_Connie said I could splurge a bit now. Tokyo was the last stop on the tour. The only thing left is to go on that talk show in two days and talk about the album. I can't believe in went triple platinum in 5 weeks._

Kiara sighed and stretched her arms. She had wanted to walk home from the bar tonight. She'd felt dizzy in there surrounded by drunk people and cigarette smoke. Not that she had drunk anything herself. She'd had to go to the after party but she had no wish to drink. Or smoking. Alcohol had a bitter taste and smell that she hated, and smoking just had a whole lot of reasons for her to avoid it.

_A walk is good though. And this is a pretty place to walk. Not as nice as the hills back home.... _for a moment she thought about home. Thought about the deep blue sky and the horses running in the fields. She thought about the BBQ's and the rodeos. She missed Tennessee.

_No use crying over split milk I guess._ She sighed. _I'll visit soon. Maybe I should call? What's the time difference between here anyway? 12 hours? that would mean...maybe 1 in the afternoon? But I'm tired._

She resolved to think about it after her bath and continued on her way. Her bag felt heavy on her shoulders. It had some make-up and books and other junk inside. Connie her agent said the bag was Kiara's suitcase.

She smiled again and walked over the tiny bridge in the middle of the park.

_Tokyo sure is pretty. Maybe I could stay here a few extra days...._

Kiara didn't notice the water under the bridge. She didn't notice that it was forming waves even when there was no wind.

She only noticed when it had formed a whirlpool.

_What's that noise?_ She turned. The water in what used to be a small river was twisting and whirling around violently.

_Oh my—!_

She was out of time to think. A wave, like a small tidal wave rose up out of the water and crashed down on her.

She tried not to scream, if she screamed she might inhale some of the water. Then she couldn't breath.

She got pulled into the whirlpool.

_Help me!_

* * *

Finally the celebration was over. The king stood to leave. He gave a wave to the people and they cheered.

_Now I shall go home to see what Yuri has been up to._

The people had been cheering a moment ago. Now they were shouting. Some where screaming.

Kail turned back to see what was happening dreading the worst.

The spring in the front of the temple was going crazy. The water was splashing and flying about. There was a whirlpool in its center.

_What is happening?_

People were getting excited. Commoners and soldiers and nobility alike were all shouting.

"It's a sign! From the gods!"

"A message from Ishtar!"

the water bubbled furiously, then it calmed and the surface was almost smooth again.

_What is that? _Kail stared at the water. He could feel something from it. Something that felt like magic but it was different.

The surface of the water broke apart; a girl splashed upward gasping for air.

There was silence.

Kiara stood inside the little pool of water and tried not to choke. She put her hands on the sides of the pool and heaved herself out of the water. She sat on the ground and wrung her hair out. She tried to calm her beathing and not panic.

Then she noticed the people.

They were staring at her. And something was strange. Well everything was strange but something about the people was _really_ strange. They were all wearing funny clothes. Old tunic-like clothes. From those old movies. And the buildings, the buildings were made of stone, but not real stone, clay.

_Where am I? _She stared around confused._ I'm not in Tokyo anymore. _she thought wondering if this was a dream like Dorothy from Oz.

The silence was broken suddenly by the shout of a man:

"A gift from the gods! Praise to the gods!"

and the people cheered.

_Gods? As in pagan type gods? As in, B.C type pagan gods!? Oh god.... _Kiara felt almost sick.

"Illvani!" Kail called. The adviser who was staring shocked at the strange girl in the fountain turned to attention. "Your Highness?"

"Get her to the palace before we have a riot." Kail order. He turned and called for his chariot trying hard to seem calm.

_What is happening now?_

Hattsua was at peace; but perhaps it would not stay that way.


	2. Following Along

Kiara was pulled along by some tall guys in weird old style clothes. They seemed to be soldiers too because they had weapons. They were saying something or other about 'Ishtar' and 'the gods' and 'King Kail' but Kiara wasn't really paying attention that what they were saying.

_How do I know what they are saying? This is like, before English was invented. How can I understand whatever it is they are speaking? I wonder if I say something, will it come out in English or this other language?_

The men herded her past the very loud crowd until she was way behind the temple thing.

_Pretty. And all made by hand probably. _She thought as she stared around.

She heard people talking and thought she might want to pay attention. After all she had no idea what was going on or where she was or why she was here. She might be in big trouble and there was no one around her to help her. No body guards to keep back the hordes, no big football jock boyfriends to protect her. Where she was, she was here alone.

"This is quite a strange turn of events." a man said to someone beside him.

_Oh my gosh, he's so hot._ Kiara thought blinking. Of course it was not the right thing to be thinking right now but it was so true.

This guy was tall; and weren't the people in the B.C. Ages supposed to have been shorter? Well this guy was tall and muscled and really cute. His hair was golden blond and long and he had really nice deep eyes.

_Wow. _She was staring. She was totally staring at him. Who cared? She had been pulled out of her own time zone for goodness sake she had a right to stare. And maybe he knew what was going on. Everyone around him was bowing and showing all kinds of respect.

_He's wearing a lot of jewelry. _She thought looking him over again._ Is this the king they've been talking about?_

"It is quite strange." another man agreed. This man had really long blond hair too but he seemed more of the studying type than a jock.

_You know, you can go back in time thousands of years but people always still fit in high school categories._

They were talking about her. How it was strange that she was there. That made a lot of sense. I mean, weird girl wearing blue jeans, sandals and mascara (water-proof thank 'gods') just shows up in the middle of their little festival thing? Yeah. They were probably as freaked out as she was.

"Hello?" she called loudly. "A little attention over here!"

everyone stared at her.

_Okay, maybe not that much attention. _"Um, I'd kinda like to go back to Japan now? I mean, my agent is gonna be looking for me and I have a show to be at in two days—"

"Japan? Is that what you said?" the king person asked looking shocked.

_How does he know about a place that had not been founded yet? This is all so weird._

"Um yeah. I was in Japan, and then some how I was in your well over there." she had to laugh. It was so weird. She stopped laughing though when she saw the looks on their faces.

They all seemed to think she was crazy.

_Well I suppose I might be, never got tested or anything. _She thought to herself. Kiara hoped that she could keep herself amused and unafraid cause these people sure didn't look too happy.

The king person was thinking. She could practically see the little wheels moving around in his head. What was he thinking so hard about?

She didn't know but she didn't want to make things worse by bothering him and making them all think she was truly and completely crazy. So she looked around.

The buildings were pretty but she was more interested in the people.

There three other men there besides the king and the study-type guy.

The first man was standing near the king with the horses and he had a lot of freckles. If she were to keep to her high school type way of categorizing people then she would say that the guy with freckles was one of those quiet guys whom most people liked but didn't always notice.

The other two were jocks. There was one who was old and he was bald, but he didn't seem that old. Like, his hair style was just a shaved head. That was cool. Lots of people did that. And he didn't really look all that old. Just older than the other people around here.

The last guy was really cute too. He had short blond hair and was tall and lean.

They are all tall. And mostly muscled. Except for Freckles and Studious over there.

"Your Highness, we should be getting back. Word of this will spread quickly and we do not know of the significance yet." the guy with really long hair said. Kiara decided that he must the kings adviser person. Like in all the movies. Although in a lot of the movies the adviser was the bad guy.

"You are right. This is something we should get contained before it gets out of hand."

the king turned around and headed off with a sweep of his cloak.

_Ooh, cool. _She thought watching him. She started to walk behind him thinking that he was going to take her some place else but someone pulled on her arm.

It was the bald guy. "You are going to walk to the palace with us." he said. She wasn't sure if he was being rude or not but she felt irritated.

"Uh uh. No. I am not walking all over the place. I just had to work hard, all day today, and yesterday. And then I nearly got drowned in your watery thing and now I'm here where there's no cars or subways to get me around but I am not going to walk." Kiara said glaring at them. They looked at her a little confused and slightly annoyed but they didn't seem to be able to think of anything to say.

Kiara pulled her arm out of the man's grip and walked over to the horses that Freckles was holding onto.

They were all staring at her but she tried to ignore them.

She patted one of the horses, a big tan one, on its side and whispered softly to it.

"Hey pretty baby, whatcha doing?" she rubbed its neck carefully. The horse moved away from her a little then it relaxed.

Kiara smiled. She loved horses. She grabbed hold of the horse on its back and hoisted herself up just like she had done for years back on the ranch.

Everyone was still staring.

_Just like babies when you show them something shinny. All they do is stare. _"Alright, where are we off to?"


	3. Competing Goddesses

**NOTE:** Thnks for the nice comments everyone I really appreciate it. I think that I will be posting a new chapter to this story at least once a week just like in the manga. I really hate it when I have to wait forever for someone to update things so I'll try to be someone who doesn't take forever. Thanks for reading and I'd always love to hear feedback so leave me reviews and I'll be really grateful. ^-^

* * *

Kiara rode along behind the king surrounded by his guards. She was feeling a little uncomfortable because she could practically feel the rumors about her spreading along. She could see people staring and she knew that in an hour or so everyone would be talking about her and they would have categorized her as something.

_Will I be a princess, a bad omen, or just someone who came out of no where and should go home right away? _She didn't really want to think about what they might be saying about her. She was very conscious of the fact that her clothes were wet and they were drying onto her skin. Plus while every other woman here had a long skirt and most had a shawl on, she was wearing blue jeans which of course showed off her legs.

_I must look like a tramp to these people. And here I am riding with the king. Brilliant. _She sighed and looked up at the sky. It was pretty. Very blue and it spread out everywhere. There were no sky scrapers or smog or anything else to cloud it up.

"What's that?" she asked loudly looking at a taller building. It was pretty and differently shaped from the others.

"That is a temple." Freckles said. Kiara thought his names was Kikkuri but she hadn't been able to confirm that yet.

"Another one? Didn't we just pass three of those?"

"There are many temples to fit the needs of all the gods." he said it with a little smile and she thought that _he_ probably thought that she was a silly fool for not knowing these things.

"Then is that another temple too?" she asked pointing to another big pretty building.

"No, that is the house of one of the chairmen."

"Oh. How many of those are there?" she looked around trying to see more. If she stopped thinking about all the possible trouble she was in then she could see that this was an incredible experience. How many other people could really say that they had gone back in time and seen the B.C. ages that people really didn't know that much about? Well, how many people could say that and be telling the truth?

_Not that I could ever tell anyone. They would really would think I've been eating lead paint from somewhere and then they'd send me to the funny farm._

"How many chairmen or their houses?"

"Do all of the chairmen have more than one house?" that was surprising. She thought that having lots of great big houses were things that only the kings had done. Weren't the kings the only ones that could afford it? They used lots of taxes right? But the king in front of her didn't seem the mean greedy type.

Kiara sighed as Freckles kept explaining about the chairmen or something. She had never liked history much. History books were such dull things. She didn't mind learning or reading; she liked both. But she could never seem to find a fun school book. Which meant she never learned anything from it.

"So, um, why was everyone standing around that temple? Was it a party?" she asked interrupting Freckles. What had he said anyway. She felt a little guilty for not paying attention. He seemed nice after all.

"It was a celebration to honor Ishtar for all that she has done for the Hittites."

"Ishtar...." Kiara mumbled to herself trying to remember if she knew that particular god. She had loved mythology. It was so funny. And weird. And some of it was kinda gross, but some was nice.

_Do I know who Ishtar is? Or is supposed to be anyway? The old pagan gods aren't real. Of course I can't say that in present company. They think Ishtar is real enough so it would be better if I didn't point out that she's not. Who is she anyway?_

"What has she done? I mean, since I'm here for a little while and everyone seems to like her a lot maybe I should know? I don't want to say anything stupid." Kiara thought she might remember if she knew this goddess if she heard a little about her. But then again, a lot of the gods were the same with different names depending on which country and culture you were talking to. Example, Jove=Zeus.

"Ishtar is our goddess of war who has helped us in defeating both the Mitanni and the Egyptian armies." Freckles said it so proudly and with such a big smile too. Kiara saw that the other three men were also smiling and looking proud. Well not Adviser guy. He didn't look much like the smiling sort. And the king looked a little uncomfortable. She wondered why. Maybe he didn't like Ishtar? Whatever the reason he seemed to become a little nervous and he started riding a little faster.

_Goddess of war? Athena maybe?_ "Did you say Egyptian armies? As in Egypt?"

"Of course. What else would they be?"

"Right." for a moment she was distracted from figuring out who the goddess was.

_I know about Egypt. I got majorly fascinated with Egypt a while ago. I read lots of books watched some movies...it was fun stuff. Mostly fake probably. I wonder who is pharaoh now? Maybe I'll know when I am if I know who the pharaoh is._ Kiara tried to think about the pharaohs she knew but for some odd reason she could think of no names. It was like the information had vanished from her head. The only Egyptian royalty she could remember was Cleopatra. She used to loved Cleopatra. But then, she read about how Cleopatra was a whore. After that Cleo wasn't so interesting anymore.

She pushed the Egyptians out of her head and thought about this strange goddess some more.

_This is killing me. I'm probably gonna remember at 3 in the morning someday and I won't even remember why I wanted to know._

"Hey! That's a big house! Is that your house?!" she asked looking up and noticing the palace on the hill for the first time. It was a great big palace on a hill. How had she missed it before?

_Daddy would be rather annoyed with me. She thought feeling annoyed with herself. She really needed to be paying attention._

The king glanced back and he smiled a little. He was so hot. She shook her head getting rid of that thought. She didn't date guys like him. And he was a king anyway. And she was going home. Wasn't she?

* * *

Hadi was carrying the laundry into the palace when she heard the whispers. They were all talking about the strange girl who had come out of the fountain. Hadi had smiled and kept on going. Today they were celebrating for Queen Yuri. She had come in here in through a spring from her strange land but that was old news and there was no reason for her to stop her work to listen to idle chatter.

"Sister!"

Hadi looked up and saw Rui and Shall coming towards her. They both looked nervous.

"Has something happened? Does Queen Yuri need anything?" she wondered if perhaps the baby? But no, there were still a few weeks before Yuri should be having her baby.

"She is fine, but have you heard the news?" Shalla looked around as if to see who was listening. Hadi became a little nervous herself. Things had been relatively calm since Nakia had been banished. But was something else happening?

"Everyone is talking about some girl who's come up from the fountain during the festival!"

"What? Today?!" _That_ was news. That was something she would have liked to stop and listen to.

"And that's not even the worst of it! Apparently everyone is saying she's some new goddess and that she came here as another gift to the king!" Rui and Shalla looked outraged at the idea of anyone else being companion the the King other than Yuri.

Hadi straightened her shoulders. "Those are just rumors. The King loves Queen Yuri and if he would never bother with someone else." now she felt annoyed with herself and with them. There was a lot of work to do and while this new girl sounded interesting it did not seem very important. It could have even been a hoax.

"But he's riding with her! They are coming back together along with Ilvani and Kikkuri and Kash and Mettannamuwa. What if the rumors are true?! What if he has to take her?!"

Hadi gave the both of her sisters a smack to the head to clear they thoughts and continued on her way with the laundry. "There's nothing to be worried about. His Majesty will only see Queen Yuri. This new person will just be another girl trying to get in the way. She won't succeed." Rui and Shalla looked doubtful but they followed along behind their sister silently.

_The real problem is what this woman is doing here._ Hadi thought walking through the halls. She passed by many servants who were whispering quickly. _If this woman is just another schemer trying to get to His Majesty then I'm sure he'll send her away quickly. But what if she is like Yuri? What if she came from somewhere else? Is this the Nakia's work again? What would she have to gain anymore? Revenge?_

"Hadi!"

Hadi stopped and to her dismay she saw Queen Yuri walking towards her. Yuri was very pregnant now and a little exercise was good for her but Hadi wasn't sure it was a good thing to let her hear the rumors. But judging by Yuri's face, she had heard the rumors.

"Yes Your Highness?"

"Is Kail back yet?" Yuri asked holding her hand on the wall lightly. Yuri was the same as she had ever been. Small and strong and this pregnancy had been of almost of no hindrance to her. Now of course nearing the beginning of nine months it was harder for Yuri to be as active as she had been. Hadi didn't mind that. Yuri was always working to hard and it was good for her to rest for once.

"I have not yet seen him, but perhaps we shall go see?" Hadi said smiling helpfully. Yuri nodded but she still seemed upset. Hadi wondered if it was the rumors that this woman was from a different world that was bothering Yuri, or if it was the rumors that this woman would be the King's new consort.

Hadi handed her bundle of laundry off to a different servant and she, Rui, Shalla and Yuri went to the courtyard to wait for the king's return.

Despite herself Hadi was beginning to feel nervous again. What if the rumors did come true? It hardly seemed possible. King Kail and Queen Yuri had been through so much just to be together, but life was always so strange and unpredictable.

They did not have to wait long before the gates were opened and the King's party returned.

Hadi could not help but gasp when she saw them.

The king was riding in the front along with his aides and there was the woman riding right next to him. They were both smiling and laughing together. They looked just like lovers might.

Hadi turned to look at Yuri. Yuri was watching Kail and she held her hands together tightly. Hadi wanted to say something reassuring but she was unable to come up with anything that would not seem like a lie.

Rui and Shalla was glaring at the new woman and grinding their teeth together.

_What is happening here?_ Hadi thought in dismay. _Perhaps, even with Nakia gone the King and Queen will have to fight to stay together._


	4. American Gunpowder and Lead

**It's Tuesday so here is another chapter! I mighyt not be able to post next week since it's Christmas and we have family coming in, but if I don't get to post next week I'll post double the week after.**

** Thanks so much to everyone who has reviewed my stuff I love to hear your comments and opinions. Thank you!!!!!**

* * *

The king had seemed nervous, but Kiara was pretty good at making people feel ok. She had had that talent for a long time; it was one of the things she did best and it was main one of the reasons why she was an entertainer for a living. Making people happy, putting on shows for others, it was something that was fun for her and for other people. She really loved her job, but now she was here in some weird movie-like situation. She would try and get home soon, but she would also try to not cause problems while she waited.

It became very apparent that she was causing problems because the king was already very uncomfortable around her. She didn't know why and maybe it wasn't even because of her, but she tried to help.

It didn't take her long to get him into a conversation. He seemed to enjoy her crazy attitude. Most people did. She was a funny kind of person. Sometimes in a ''ha-ha'' way and sometimes in a ''is she crazy?" way. In any event she got the king to smile and laugh.

They were laughing together when they entered the courtyard of his palace.

Kiara looked around and saw a lot of people staring. The people here stared a lot, but that was normal for this type of situation. Rumors spread fast and they probably had all made their conclusions about her by now.

It became apparent that she was already making someone else uncomfortable too.

Kiara saw what looked to be three maids standing around one woman who was wearing a pretty dress and a few jewels. The woman was obviously pregnant too.

_Is she the king's wife? How cute._ Kiara thought to herself. She took notice of the look on the woman's face then and thought about the rumors that had no doubt been circulating.

_Oh my gosh, I feel like 'the other woman.' and I haven't even done anything yet._ she thought feeling uncomfortable herself. The pregnant woman wasn't very transparent, but call it woman's intuition or whatever, Kiara was certain that everyone had been calling her the king's new mistress. That didn't seem to make the queen real happy at all. Why would it?

Then she finally realized another important fact.

"Oh my gosh you're Japanese!' she all but shouted as loud as she could.

The woman and her maids all looked startled. The maids looked annoyed as well.

_So that's how they knew about Japan! This has happened before! So strange. Is it like a black hole or something? Does it regularly happen to suck up random people and drop them into the 'world before plumbing'?_

"You know about Japan?" the pregnant woman asked. Two of her maids, they were twins, started whispering to each other.

"Of course I do; I was there. Naturally if I was some place I ought to know about the place I was at. Unless I hadn't meant to be there. You'd think so anyway wouldn't you?" Kiara patted the horse on its neck and it nickered softly. Then she bolted off of its back on landed on the ground.

_I feel all wet and clingy. These clothes are too tight now. I need to change into something not full of spring-well-black-hole water._

"How do we know if you are not lying? Perhaps you have never been to Queen Yuri's world." one of the twins asked.

Wow, someone seems to be feeling rather loyal. Kiara thought trying thinking about all the 'my-friends VS your-friends' crap she had seen before.

"What about.... Hold on a minute." Kiara dropped her great big messenger-bag onto the ground. Somehow it had come though the hole with her. She shoved everything around inside mumbling to herself and checking on some of her stuff. After a moment she stood up and waved something in the air.

"This is proof that I know about Japan and 'the other world.'" Kiara said making little air quotes.

The thing she was waving was red, white, and blue with stripes and stars.

"You, you're an American!" the Japanese girl said staring at the small flag.

"Yep. Red white and blue baby. I'm a Yankee all the way. Though actually I kinda like the Red Sox better. Not that I really pay attention to sports but hey, pick a team and all." Kiara shrugged and put the small flag back in her bag.

"Even if you hadn't seen the flag you should have known that I'm from elsewhere. I mean, after all, I'm the only showing such modern fashion choices." Kiara said looking down at her jeans. "Though usually I wear jeans with less sand on them. The design and comfort is much nicer that way."

The girl, Yuri, laughed. She still seemed a little uncomfortable but she was laughing now.

"How did you get here?" she asked. The king and his people had gotten off of their own horses and the were all standing around. Kiara was in the middle of a loose circle. She didn't feel 'uncomfortable' at all. Psych.

_Are they gonna, like gang up on me if I say the wrong thing?_ She though glancing at them all. The maids were whispering with the king's aids now.

"Um, I'd kinda like to know where 'here' is? I mean obviously there's no air conditioning or pizza around so I must be somewhere near the stone age." Kiara tried not the think about what the difference in time zones was gonna mean right now. She would no doubt die of hamburger-hunger later but right now she would be brave and not think about it. Maybe they would tell her how to get out of here.

_They probably can't though. Yuri came from the same place as me and obviously she hasn't left yet. I wonder if its because she couldn't, or because she didn't want to?_

"Should we talk inside. Perhaps in a place more private?" the Adviser said after talking with the maid who wasn't a twin.

"Of course." the king put his arm around Yuri's shoulders and they started walking inside.

The maids followed, each one of them throwing a glare at Kiara as they went by. She almost felt like grinning in a mocking way just to annoy them. But she wasn't really that mean. The soldiers who seemed to be personal guards to the king followed along. They took a few steps then looked back at Kiara who hadn't moved yet.

She bit her lips. She had no idea what she was getting into. And she was alone and outnumbered and already highly-distrusted and un-liked.

_Daddy would say that that was never the way to go into enemy territory; alone, outnumbered, and unarmed._

Well, she wasn't completely unarmed.

Kiara held onto the strap of her bad tightly, took a big breath and walked slowly following them. She tried to keep her mind clear and her body ready for quick movement. She couldn't let down her guard since they hadn't let down theirs yet.

She could feel them watching her carefully as she walked down the hallways. It was very bright and sunshiny outside but inside the hallways it was shaded. It felt dark and cold to Kiara.

_Is this like a premonition? Or am I thinking to hard? Everything seems so eerie._

Her clothes were still a little wet and gritty and they felt itchy and cold next to her skin. She almost wished that it had been winter in Tokyo which meant she would have been wearing a coat. But then she probably wouldn't have walked home and the coat would have gotten wet anyway.

They passed other servants and a few people who looked like nobles. Everyone stared at her and she could feel a slight blush on her cheeks. How did she look to these people? Did she really want to know?

They came to some room finally and it looked like someone's private sitting room. It was very big and had lots of nice furniture in it.

_Is this the king's room? Or the queen's?_ They closed the door behind her and she could hear people moving on the other side of it. _Probably guards taking their positions._

The men in the room stood not too far from the king and the maids helped the queen sit onto a couch and rest. The king shrugged off his large cloak and stood looking at Yuri for a moment.

Kiara stood tensely by the door and waited for them to shift their attention to her. She didn't have to wait long.

"You said you were from Japan?" the king asked looking at her. His eyes traveled over her entire length and she tried not to blush again. Was he looking at her trying to decided of she was a threat or to see if she looked like a girl at all?

_Now is not the time to be thinking like a girl stupid. _She told herself sharply. _Think military here!_

"I said I was in Japan; I didn't live there." she answered. Kiara shifted her position so she was leaning slightly to her left and her muscles were tensed.

"What were you doing there?" Yuri asked. She seemed really curious. Homesick probably.

That was something Kiara didn't know how to answer. It would probably be kinda hard to explain what a pop star was to these people.

"Can we come back to that question? I was kinda hoping that you could tell me how to get home." Kiara rubbed her left arm slowly. Her left arm was the one that her bag was slung over.

"I think we should be asking the questions for now." the adviser said.

"Ilvani don't scare her." the queen said looking at him a little surprised. The adviser who was apparently named Ilvani bowed slightly but continued to look at Kiara somewhat coldly.

"Your highness we should be more careful. She may be here to harm you!" one of the twins said without even bothering to lower her voice. The other twin nodded in agreement with her sister.

_Now that's something I can clear up._ "Um, I don't know why I would harm you, cause I don't know you, but if your worried about me stealing your boyfriend then you really don't need to worry." Kiara held up her hands and smiled a little.

The king and Yuri both blushed a little. But the three maids all looked a little angrier.

"Why should we believe that?" the twin asked again. They were completely glaring at her.

"Well see, I don't date guys from the military." Kiara looked down at her hands for a moment and bit her bottom lip.

The other people in the room all seemed to have mixed reactions to that. Mostly though they seemed offended, annoyed, and angry. Except that the queen just seemed confused.

"What's wrong with soldiers?" the queen asked.

_We seem to have gotten way off track if we are discussing my dating habits. _Kiara thought blushing a little. "Nothing, soldiers are fine. Nice and buff, but its just not my thing." she answered trying to close the subject.

"How _did_ you come here?" Ilvani asked suddenly. Kiara was very relieved for the topic change.

"I was just walking over this little bridge in a little park in Tokyo, and then this whirlpool of water just came out of nowhere and sucked me up. Then I was here." she didn't bother to mention the almost drowning part of the episode. That wasn't very important right now since it obviously hadn't happened.

"Did you here a voice? Like someone talking to you?" the queen asked looking a little tense.

"Um, no. just lots of whooshing water." Kiara tried to remember little details. But there were none. She had been pulled into deep water and swirled round and round until finally she was thrown upward out of that spring like a submarine coming up from a dive.

"Whooshing?" one of the soldiers whispered. The other solider shrugged.

"So you have no idea what happened to you?" the king asked. He seemed a little suspicious. Or maybe he was just miffed because she said she wouldn't ever think of dating someone like him. Boys were funny that way. Even if they didn't want you, they didn't like it when you didn't want them. Some girls were like that too but Kiara thought it was a ridiculous way to act.

"Um no. I know I was drowning and then I was here getting the 3rd degree, but if you know what the heck is going on it would be so nice if you were to tell me now." she was getting a little pissed now. It didn't seem very fair that they were all against her for almost no reason and they were treating her like a criminal.

Her anger only made them more wary of her though.

"Kash, our guest looks a little chilled. Why don't you take her somewhere to dry off?" Ilvani said staring coldly at Kiara. She resisted the urge to stick her tongue out at him. The sandy haired solider named Kash came to her side and motioned her to move through the door that he opened up.

She moved through slowly glancing at the people behind her as she did.

_They're gonna be talking about me._ She thought slowly. It was time to be smart and do what her Daddy had taught her.

Kash closed the door and the guards moved out of his way as he started walking along.

"Oh shoot!" Kiara said dropping onto the floor suddenly. Kash looked at her annoyed.

"Come along." he said frowning at her.

"Just a minute. That water broke my shoe and I need to fix it." she said lightly as if there was no other reason for her being on the ground. The floor was cold and she shivered.

But she was right outside the door.

She took off her sandel slowly and leaned as close to the door as she could.

They talking inside. She could hear the words but she didn't know who was talking.

"Could Nakia have done this?"

"She has been well monitored. She could not have brought that girl to her."

"So if she did summon the girl then she was unable to control her?"

"That is not completely true. She might have used the dark water again."

Kiara had her shoe off and was fishing around in her bag pretending to look for something.

_Who the hell is Nakia?_

"We should keep a close eye on her."

"Of course Your Highness."

"But she said she's an American, what if she just wants to go home?"

That was Yuri talking now.

There was silence and Kiara thought that the people in the room were uncomfortable talking about sending people back home.

_That makes sense since they obviously didn't send a certain someone home._

"Are you through yet?" Kash asked even more annoyed. He was going to get suspicious if she took any longer. The only reason he wasn't already was because she was just a little girl in his eyes.

"Yep." she shoved her foot back inside her shoe and stood quickly. "All done." she smiled brightly just like a girl who was having fun. Kash scowled and kept moving.

_I may be a little girl, but just like Miranda Lambert said, I'm gonna show them what little girls are made of:_

_Gunpowder and lead._


	5. Missing Prince

Hi y'all! I know i just uploaded a chapter yesterday but I wrote this all out and i just felt like uploading it now. besides its short anyway. it won't mess up my patterns though, i'll still just be uploading on Tuesdays as a normal thing. i guess this is like a free extra or somethin. please enjoy!

**Note**: First I wanna give a great big shout out of thanks to Dana and DaydreamerMagby who are both so sweet and write such nice reviews for me. Thanks so much you guys!

Second I wanna say that I made a typo in the first chapter when I made a description of Kiara; I'm so sorry and stupid but I meant to say that Kiara is **17** not **16** and she has **blue** eyes not **brown** ones. Really sorry for causing such a stupid problem.

* * *

Yuri was walking in the sunshine through the gardens. She placed her fingers over her lips and looked up at the sky thinking hard. She wasn't sure what to think about this new person who was here. The woman was obviously a Yankee; no one else could be so bold and cheeky but there was a lot they didn't know of about her. Like why she was here and what she planned to do.

_When Nakia pulled me here she had specific reasons for it. I can't think of anyone else who would do something like this other than her. But why would she pull someone here? Prince Juda cannot become king since he has forfeited his claim to the throne. And besides, Kail and I already have a son._

The only other option would be revenge but she had tried that before and it didn't work.

Yuri stopped pacing for a moment to think about the day Rusafa had died. He had been a good friend and very loyal. She wished that....

Yuri shook her head to throw out such sad thoughts. She could not change what had happened nearly two years ago. It was as permanent as the deaths of all the others she had known since coming here.

Yuri frowned a little and clenched her hands.

_If this woman does come here to harm us, then I won't let her. _Slowly the faces of the friends she had lost filtered through her thoughts.

There was Tito, the first person to show her kindness when she came here. Zannazna who would have gone to Egypt to be a good king if he had not been murdered by Nakia's men. And Ursula who had sacrificed her life in order that Yuri not be blamed for the murder of the previous king. And Rusafa who had always defended and helped her and Kail.

They had all died for her. It was all because of Nakia's scheming to have all of the Hittite Empire in her grasp.

_If that woman is here as an assassin, she will find that she has a hard job to carry out._

Yuri swayed a little and slowly her anger left her as she thought more clearly about everything. She heard footsteps behind her and then large warm arms wrapped around her even over her now big stomach.

"Kail!" she gasped shocked to find him so close. He smiled at her and she smiled back and she leaned against him.

They stood in silence for a moment before Yuri finally addressed what was on both of their minds.

"Do you really think Nakia could have sent her?" Yuri asked looking at Kail carefully. He glanced at the sky.

"There is no doubt that she once had the ability to do so, but whether she is able to in her exile I do not know. We have her watched closely and if something were amiss we would know about it very quickly."

"But what if she used the dark water! What if she's controlling this woman through that?"

Kail looked at Yuri and smiled just a little to try and calm her. "Even if there was dark water inside that woman, Nakia would have to have someway to deliver her commands. She cannot do that all the way from Karukemishu and Urhi is no longer hear to relay her orders. I do not think she can use the dark water to control that woman."

Yuri sighed heavily with more ease. Of course Kail would know about that. He was a priest as well and was even as strong with magic as Nakia was. Only he rarely used his magic and preferred to use other methods to conduct his plans. He truly was a great man.

Yuri blushed a little thinking about. She placed her hands on Kail's.

She looked up at his handsome face and smiled. He chuckled softly and bent down to kiss her.

"Your Highness?"

Yuri turned away from Kail completely blushing. "Um, Yes?" she looked to see one of the maids addressing her.

The maid wrung her hands and looked very nervous. "Your Highness, by any chance, have you taken the Prince somewhere?" she asked.

The words registered in Yuri's mind slowly and she felt Kail stiffen in surprise behind her.

"Deiru is...missing?" she asked staring blankly at the woman.

The maid threw herself onto the ground and started to sob. "Your Highnesses forgive me! He was sleeping and I went to get tell someone to get food for him, for when he woke up, but when I went back he was gone! I was only away for a moment! Only for a moment!"

Yuri felt cold all over.

Deiru, her precious son was missing? With _that_ _woman_ in this castle!?

_I will not loose another child to Nakia's schemes!_

Kail was calling for someone, Kikkuri, to go and find the child. Yuri could barely hear him. Her mind was working in panic. All she could think was that she had to find her son before it was too late.

_Deiru!_

* * *

Kiara wandered along the outside wall of the palace buildings. It really was a very big palace and she was trying to keep track of where she was going.

They had of course put her in a room and asked her to wait, but she hadn't felt like it. So she managed to get outside and now she was looking around curious and cautious.

The sky was blue, but getting darker now. It would be sunset soon. She yawned. When she had left Tokyo it had been 1 in the morning. She was feeling tired. But she wouldn't have been able to sleep with all these people glaring at her.

_Well they aren't out here now. They are all probably in there still deciding if they want to kill me or not._ She thought with bitterness. She wasn't sure if they were just paranoid people or what but they seemed to have trust issues.

_Then again, they are the leaders of a country right? They have probably been threatened more than once before. Agh, I hate power struggles._

It didn't help that her thinking wasn't straight because of her tiredness and of the stress of nearly drowning a while ago. She felt a little light-headed and she really hoped that would cause her to do something stupid.

The grass was soft and green here and there were trees every few yards or so. She looked around and sighed again. She felt tired. Her clothes were dried off and they felt wrong on her skin. She wanted to soak in a long hot bath. She wanted to ride her old horse over the hills in the warm fresh air. She wanted a cookie.

She sighed again. _The Spaniards don't discover chocolate until, like the 15__th__ century._ She whimpered to herself.

She lost track of her train of thought as something interesting stumbled into her line of vision.

It was a little boy. Barely a toddler. He had curly black hair and he was just wandering around on swaying steps.

_Baby? Why is a baby out here?_

She walked towards him.


	6. Fighting

**Here's the next chapter and surprise!! i've posted more than one!! please enjoy and happy hoildays!!! ps. its 12am at night but i'll still count this as tuesday which means that i'm on time!! sort of...yay!!**

* * *

Kiara wandered over slowly not wanting to scare the baby.

He was bending over to pick up a small rock off the ground.

Kiara's skin prickled and her muscles tensed automatically. She felt something bad. Instinct was hard trained into her and she had learned to listen to it easily.

There were lots of shadows approaching the baby now.

Kiara took two more steps forward before the shapes of big men surrounded the baby on the ground.

There were about ten men and they all looked awful. They wore clothes that seemed a little ragged and they all had a menacing look on their faces.

They stared at the baby greedily.

"Haha, just think of all the money we'll get for this brat!" one of the man reached down grabbed the boy up roughly by the back of his clothes. The baby started to whimper and kick out with his little feet.

Someone nearby screamed.

"_Deiru_!"

Kiara just moved.

_Daddy said trust your damn instincts. _she thought angrily to herself as she jumped up and kicked one of the men right in the back of his head. Not an easy feet since he was easily a foot taller than her.

The men looked in surprise. They hadn't seen her before and they had never seen anyone like her.

Kiara didn't give them time to think about their new discovery.

She jumped upward hard and aimed a kick straight at the man who was holding the baby.

Her foot landed solidly on his chest. He flew backward dropping the baby as he did.

Kiara caught the boy in her arms before he hit the ground.

The other men started growling and closing in around her.

_Yeah, like growling like puppy dogs is gonna scare me._

She held the baby tight to her chest with her left arm and jumped straight up into the air as they charged at her. Some of the men collided with each other. Others stopped to look up.

One of the unfortunate idiots who looked up got a shoe in his face as she came back down again.

_I'm so glad I'm still wearing pants._ She thought as she jumped onto the back of another would be kidnapper.

Some of the men pulled out swords. She glanced at those sharply and knew she needed to be careful.

4 of the men were down, 6 were left and three had knives.

Kiara kept tight hold of the baby who was clutching onto her with his tiny hands.

She knew she had more strength in her legs right now since she didn't have to use of both of her hands so she stuck with kicking people.

One of the men with knives got a heavy kick into his abdomen. When he leaned over in pain she shot her knee upward into his face effectively breaking his nose. A man charged her from behind and succeeded in cutting her on her arm.

Kiara grunted and twisted sharply. She threw out her leg and knocked the man across his stomach. He too leaned over with a grunt and she used her free elbow to jab him right on his spine.

_That's for cutting me moron! _She thought scowling.

Now she was freakin pissed off. These last two guys were gonna get it.

They didn't know that and stupidly came at her anyway.

She jumped up high the kick at the front man's face but he was smart enough to avoid that by pushing her foot out of the way.

Already committed to her leap Kiara kept going with it.

She caught the man's head between her knees and rolled forward.

She put out her hand to keep her from hitting the dirt in her face but she didn't stop the man from slamming straight onto the ground. The last attacker shouted loudly and came at her with a sword.

_Too slow stupid._

She didn't stop the momentum as she and the other man came to the ground. But instead of sitting on the dirt she used her hand to do a front flip that threw over into the air. She flipped up, and caught the last man in the chest with her feet.

He flew backward for a few feet before hitting the ground.

_Gunpowder and lead._ She thought grinning smugly.

Kiara landed on her own feet and stood up straight checking on the child in her arms.

He was holding onto her tightly and whimpering a little. She probably hadn't made him feel real safe by flipping around so much. Not that there had been time to put him down....

"It's okay now." she whispered softly. The baby looked up at her and sniffed.

Her hair was messy from the wet and from the jumping around just now, but it was a pretty brown color and it was framing her face in waves. She was smiling and her blue eyes were soft.

The baby held onto her more tightly and she patted him on the back and looked over the men on the ground again.

_I made a mess._ She thought grimacing at the sight. The ten men were lying on the ground. Some of them were unconsciousness the others were mumbling and cursing.

She had lost a shoe. When did that happen?

People ran up behind her and she turned to see who it was a little tensely.

_Oh look. The gang's all here. _She thought sarcastically to herself. _When_ did she lose that shoe?

No one said anything. They just stared at her like she had three heads.

She looked back at them blinking. _What's wrong with them?_

She held out the baby in her arms.

"There you go. See if you can find who he belongs to." she said pushing the boy at one of the maids. Then she went to look around for her shoe.

Yuri took the baby from Shalla and held him tight in her arms. Then she and the others just kept staring at the strange American who was wandering around muttering to herself.

"Let's see, I kicked him, and then I went this way." she said retracing her steps as she looked around.

"She...sh-she...." Yuri said staring.

"Ah-HA!" Kiara shouted suddenly causing all of the others to jump. She dropped to the ground and lifted up a light brown sandal. "Found you." she said in a sing-song voice as she stood on one foot and put her shoe back on.

"Who are you?"

Kiara looked up and almost felt like slapping herself. _Good, act like an idiot in front of the people who don't trust you._

_For saving the kid?_

_No not for that but for talking to yourself and then talking to the freakin shoe._

_I'm talking to myself now._

She slapped herself mentally.

_Nice to know I'm still sane after my little trip through the whirl-pool of time disorder. _She thought sarcastically. She was hoping to keep herself amused.

It wasn't working.

"What did you say?" she asked looking at them all.

"Who are you?" the king asked and he made every word into it's own sentence.

"Oh right. Cause we never had any introductions right? That's bad manners you know." she said it like a joke but she wished she hadn't. She walked forward anyway trying to keep things moving.

"My name is Kiara. Kiara Brown. Really American name don't you think? Brown? Have you ever heard of someone named Brown who wasn't from 1 of the 50 states?"

_Oh good idiot. Ramble some more. Help them decide that they do in fact wish to kill you._

She ignored the voice inside her head which was her own. Sometimes she thought that maybe she was like those cartoons? The ones where there's a angel and a devil on your shoulder each other them telling you what to do.

"So you're the king," she said pointing the man and holding on hand on her hip while she leaned to the left. "And you're his queen," she continued pointing at the pregnant Japanese woman. "and you're the adviser, and you guys are the body guards and you...." she paused while looking at the maids.

"I really wanna say y'all are the pit-bulls, but some how that seems like it would be displeasing?" she laughed.

The three women bristled and glared at her unsure of what she had said but thinking that she had insulted them.

"Did I say that out loud? Silly me." she laughed and turned away flipping her hair with a tiny bit of contempt.

"You should have more respect when speaking to the King and Queen of Hattusa!" one of the twins shouted loudly.

"That's the thing _Blondie_," Kiara said turning and facing the woman and her sisters. "I don't live in Hattusa, and I don't have a king or queen. Where I come from there aren't any 'royalties'. And I only show respect to people who've earned it, and since I've been here I haven't seen a single thing that makes me think you deserve any." she addressed to last statement to all of them. Then she turned her back on them and crossed her arms over her chest.

Most of them were shouting in outrage behind her. Probably the only reason that they hadn't jumped her already was that the queen was holding them back.

"Wait wait! It's not her fault! That's how they all are!"

Kiara waited until they were all relatively calm again before she made the next hit.

"They're all that way? You mean Americans? You ever met an American Yuri-_sama_? Or you just relying on rumors? Doesn't seem like that's the way to be a good queen now does it?"

_That_ really pissed them off.

Judging by the hostile ominous silence behind her Kiara didn't think it was safe to keep her back to these people anymore.

She turned to look at them. Every one of them had a loathing cold look on their face. She met it was an icy look of her own.

The only ones who didn't look like they wanted her dead at that moment was the baby who was asleep, and the queen herself.

Yuri looked at Kiara with contempt in her eyes but otherwise her face was devoid of emotion.

They stared at each other, the black eyes and the blue ones.

"I don't care what you all think, I'm not gonna change for you. I just want to go back home and get away from this crazy nightmare." Kiara said slowly and clearly almost as if she was demanding something.

Yuri held her chin a little higher. "I'm sure that can be arranged immediately."


	7. Saying Sorry and Second Thoughts

Kiara sat in the small room they had put her in to wait. Apparently they had gone off to make arrangements for her departure and they wanted her to stay out of sight and out of the way while they were gone.

_You really pissed them off good you know. _She told herself. _Can't you ever keep your mouth shut?_

_I haven't managed it yet._

Why was she talking to herself? Well she had no one else to talk to.

Her arm hurt. That man had only been able to make a shallow cut on her but it had been directly over the muscle so every time she flexed her arm at all it hurt. Plus she had managed to bleed a lot.

She leaned back against the wall and pulled her knees up against her chest. She felt very uncomfortable. Her clothes were all messed up and even her bra felt like it was on wrong. That was such a nice thing. She shifted her weight against the wall and resisted the urge to change her clothes.

_They said that to send me back I needed to be wearing the same clothes as when I came here._ She thought sighing. So she couldn't change. They had also said that she had to go back to same way; through the water. She wasn't so keen on that really. She was a good swimmer. She was a lifeguard even, but after nearly drowning before, she wasn't sure she really wanted to go through that again.

_You're just being a baby. Its better to get gone than to stay here where they hate you now. And of course they hate you cause you acted like an idiot and ran your big dumb mouth off._

She shifted uncomfortably again. She felt bad about that. She wanted to say sorry but would they believe her? Would they even listen? Did that matter? She should try to say sorry anyway.

She held her bag in her hands tightly and looked at the pillow longingly. She wanted to sleep so badly. But she wasn't sure she wanted to miss the chance to go home tonight. She wanted to be out of here before something else bad happened.

_I wonder if someone picked up all those rats in the garden?_ She wondered thinking about the kidnappers. How had they got in here? She shook her head slightly. It wasn't her business. She would be going home very soon.

The door opened and she looked to see who was coming in.

It was Yuri.

Kiara stiffened up a little bit thinking that the queen had come to yell at her or something.

Instead Yuri looked tired. Her maids—the pit-bulls—came in behind her and stood nearby warily.

Kiara waited for Yuri to say something first.

Yuri looked at the American.

"You can't go back. You have to stay here." she said with a sigh.

Kiara thought through those words and laughed out loud.

"Haha! Of course I do! How funny that all the bad luck comes today!" she laughed some more and tried not to think too much about it. The others looked at her surprised.

"What happened?" Kiara asked becoming sober again. _I'm slap-happy. _She realized.

"You need to go back through the well in front of the main temple, but the water has disappeared." Yuri sat on chair at the opposite side of the room.

"Will it come back in the morning or something?" Kiara asked. Some wells and springs filled then emptied quickly. It was like an ocean's tide.

Yuri shook her head. "That well was always full. There's no reason why it should be empty now."

So for some reason the only thing that could take her home was mysteriously not working right. It seemed like she really would have to stay here.

Kiara rubbed her eyes and tried to think of something, anything else other than what was happening now.

"I was wondering...." Yuri said slowly and quietly. Kiara looked up at the woman and saw that she was looking nervous. Kiara knew what she wanted to know.

"The economy is dying, global warming is becoming a hot topic, crime rates are up everywhere, hurricanes come in faster and hit harder, and Disney is fast taking over the world." Kiara said in boredom. She also could have mentioned that Britney Spears had made her come back but she didn't really care about that.

Yuri looked down at her hands. "That's a lot to happen in 6 years." she said softly.

"Yeah...." but six years was a long time. Anything could happen in six years.

"Anything in particular you want to know? Like who won American Idol or something?" or whatever the Japanese equivalent was.

"American what?" Yuri asked confused.

Kiara looked at her. "I thought everyone knew about that. I mean they've got different branches of it spreading off into England and Australia. I woulda thought...never mind." Kiara said shaking her head.

"Maybe you're wondering what Bush is screwing up now? Well he's not president anymore. Obama has that spot now."

"Bush? I thought the last American president was Clinton?"

Kiara twitched. "Hey Yuri, who old are you?" she asked thinking. Clinton was president years ago. Bush had had two terms since then.

"Um, 21 I think. They don't have the same calenders here." she said thinking.

Well this isn't making much since. "You said you've been here for six years?" she asked. Yuri nodded.

A funny thought occurred to Kiara. A thought that came straight out of a sci-fi movie.

"What year was it when you came here?" Kiara asked warily.

"1995."

"Hahahaha." D_amn. I need to sleep._ Kiara thought as she kept laughing.

"19...1995!" Kiara choked through her laughter.

"What is it?" Yuri asked annoyed and a little nervous.

"1995 was 3 years after I was born!" Kiara said laughing still. _Stop laughing. Stop it!_

"What are you saying—"

"I left from the year 2009." Kiara said finally starting to calm down. "That's more than a decade after you left."

"2009?! But I've only been here for 6 years!" Yuri exclaimed standing up quickly.

"Hey I can't explain I just live it." Kiara said shrugging. Then she thought about something else.

Yuri had left _before_ 2001. She had _really_ missed a lot.

Kiara was instantly sober now.

_What would Daddy say now?_ She thought slowly brooding in her own silence. _Would he be able to say anything?_

The door opened up again and light footsteps entered the room.

Yuri stood unsteadily and started to leave.

"Bye bye." Kiara said without looking up or really paying attention. She was getting lost in old memories and they were not the happy ones.

Someone sat on the seat where Yuri had been. He was quiet and Kiara didn't bother to look at him right away but she began to loose focus in her thoughts as she became uncomfortable under his serious gaze.

"Stop staring at me." she snapped glaring up at him.

The king straightened in his chair and obligingly looked away from her for a moment.

_Really if I didn't know he was already married I'd think he was checking me out. But it doesn't really seem like that._

"You have questions you wanna ask?" she asked. She picked up her big heavy bag and put it in her lap. She held it tight to her body feeling the security of its being so close.

"What are you doing here?" he asked bluntly and without any fronts.

Kiara fought the urge to roll her eyes. She was so damn tired. "I told you, I have no idea. I wasn't here and then I was. But I would rather be home. I mean as nice as your blue skies and pretty houses are, your attitudes lack something along the line of manners." boy, she just couldn't keep her mouth shut could she?

He didn't seem offended this time. Or rather he seemed to have decided that she was a crazy horrible person so what she said didn't bother him anymore.

"Can you really expect me to believe such a tale? That would be a true insult."

W_hat? Nothing else I've said was an insult? Maybe I wasn't trying hard enough._ She thought sarcastically to herself. He was pretending that they were all unaffected by her attitude.

_Well he can put up that front if he wants to but I'm not stupid._

"What did you believe when your little wife floundered her way out of the water? Did you accuse her of treason and attempted murder too?" _Doesn't sound like a sweet honeymoon to me._

* * *

Kail blinked in surprise. Was this woman truly informed then? Or had she been lucky in all of her guesses? Not only had she grasped her own situation here, she knew very well that they were against her, but she had also started to guess a lot about Yuri.

_Is she guessing? Or is she smarter than her rudeness would have her seem?_

"I know why Yuri came here and I would trust her with my life and the lives all of the people in this kingdom." he said sharply. The woman glanced at him then leaned her back on the wall.

"Which is probably why you married her then." the woman said. She sighed a little. Kail didn't reply to her.

"Why do you even suspect me? I haven't done anything wrong. I haven't hurt anyone. I don't know where I am or what is going on. Why am I the criminal here?"

Kail blinked again looking at the woman. For a moment he was unsure. Many times before he had heard accusations that were untrue and had had dire consequences. He had seen many people framed and put on trail when they had been so innocent. He did not wish to punish those who were guiltless and he spent a lot of time making sure that he didn't.

But Nakia was clever and just because his other enemies might be few that did not mean that they were not dangerous.

He did not want to punish someone who was blameless but he would not release someone who might hurt what was precious to him.

He needed to test her. He needed to know if she could be trusted. It would be much simpler if he could send her back to wherever she had come from, but something had drained that well.

The woman seemed to be having the same thoughts as him.

"Hey, this is a desert right? And it doesn't rain. If there's no water in that well can those people still get something to drink?"

Kail was startled by the sincerity of those words coming from this strange person's mouth. She seemed genuinely concerned that the common people would not be able to survive.

He looked her over again and found her so different from Yuri.

She was short, perhaps all of the woman from that other world were shorter. Her hair was messy and a little wild. It was a brown color he saw. He wondered at the color, he did not recall having ever had seen brown hair on a woman before. He glanced and saw that her body was thin but she seemed muscular somehow. She did not look as openly strong as a man might, but he could defiantly detect the hardness of strong muscles under her skin. It was her eyes that were the most curious though. They were blue. Blue eyes were rare in these lands.

Kail looked at her eyes and recognized the expression he saw there.

It was sadness and thought and pain. Those were eyes that had seen too much. Those were eyes that had known too much too young.

Once again Kail doubted his animosity towards the woman. He jumped a little when she closed her eyes and slid over onto the bed.

_She's sleeping? _He wondered. He stood and walked closer to check on her. She was was holding onto her bag tightly and sleeping exhausted onto of the sheets.

He glanced at the bag and thought that he should have someone check inside of it for weapons, but no matter who she was it was apparent that she was not going to be causing any trouble for now. She was completely drained of her energy.

As a last precaution Kail leaned closer to her using his own powers of a priest to try and determine if there was anything controlling her. He didn't think there was but that did not mean much. It was possible that he was simply unable to detect whatever was using her.

As he left the room with the sleeping person in it he wondered if he was trying to convince himself that she was dangerous. Why should be doing that? If she was not a danger then he would be able to relax.

So why was he trying to convince himself that she _was_ an enemy?


	8. General Ramses

Edited: 4-29-2019; Just some minor spelling, grammar changes but they annoyed me and i'm sure they bothered you readers so I fixed them. at least i tried to.

* * *

He walked swiftly from the throne room in annoyance. He had been summoned from the middle of his evening in order to meet with Pharaoh and 'discuss certain' things.

_Discuss indeed. _He thought sourly as he walked through the large halls. _It was more of an order._

Ramses paced down the halls becoming more and more angry with ever step.

The man they had out in Hattusa now was homesick and wished to come back to Thebes. Horemheb had 'asked' Ramses to take the man's place as government liaison between Egypt and the Hittites.

The truth behind it all of course was that the man in Hattusa now was an idiot, and Horemheb was finally replacing him. And he had picked Ramses because he wanted the general out of Egypt and out of the way.

Ramses almost growled as he thought of all of the idiocy and corruption going on around here. Politicians and priests buying everything they wanted with the money they had earned from their slaves, while the common people of Egypt died in the streets without the food to feed themselves.

_Horemheb has no idea what he's doing. Such a worthless pharaoh. He can't do nothing unless someone else points it out to him. No doubt it was that wife of his who told him to send me out of Egypt. She at least has some sense. At least enough of it to see me as a threat._

_He_ knew of the rumors in Thebes. Everyone knew of them, and they were _right_.

Ramses's different colored eyes flashed in irritation as he thought of the rumors and the meaning behind them.

Egypt was dying and the Pharaoh was too incompetent to save it. General Ramses was not too incompetent and everyone knew that. In hushed voices the people would whisper of the failure of the war the year before. What they whispered about the most was why the Pharaoh had loudly ignored General Ramses's advice. If he had listened to his general then perhaps they would not have lost that war.

_No matter what that treaty of theirs says it was our loss._ He thought sourly.

Hattusa.

He stopped his pacing to stare out a large window next to him.

He did _not_ wish to go.

For one thing winter would be coming to the Hittites soon, and Ramses was not happy to be there in the harsh cold. For another thing it was a stupid pointless mission. They could not have another war with the state of their troops now, and there was not much point in monitoring the Hittites.

_Soldiers laying about in laziness. None of them would be able to march for more than a day without exhausting themselves. It's incredible how much that man has destroyed this empire in only a year._ Ramses scowled and started walking again. No, Egypt would be nothing if they tried to fight again.

_We used to be like the gods. We used to have everything. Now we can barely uphold ourselves, and they all know it. They all watch and wait for Egypt to fall so that they may take whatever they wish from the ruins we will leave behind._

No, Egypt was nothing anymore compared with Hattusa. And Horemheb was nothing compared with Mursili.

Again Ramses felt the familiar jealously and rage burn inside him at the thought of the Hittite king. Even with the severe drought and loss of crops, the Hittites had retained their strong and proud kingdom.

_We would be nothing against him. Mursili has everything in his pocket._Ramses raged to himself thinking again of how easily the battle had been lost after Horemheb had taken the command against the Hittite king. He had almost _given_ away the victory.

For a moment thought Ramses's anger stopped and disappeared quietly as he fought to control his own thoughts.

_Mursili has everything._

He sighed and let the emotions come over him. They were not something he was able to contain.

It had been more than two years, and he still could not forget her face. He could not wash his mind of her smile and her laugh, or of that look of fire in her eyes when she became determined.

It was not like him to brood so long over a single woman. He had never had to spend so much time thinking about any one of them in particular. Women were easy; a few soft words, a gift or two, a glance, a touch, and they were won.

But not her. She had always said no to him and she had always meant it. No one had said no to him before like that. They had always been flattered and attracted to him. He had any woman he wanted, and it had always been such an easy thing before.

But now he looked at a woman and saw Yuri. He could not help it, and he could not stop it.

_Hattusa. _He thought again with complete annoyance and frustration.

He did not want to go. He did not want to see her there with _him_. He did not want to see _them_ together. He did not want to see _their_ child. He did not want to see _her_ pregnant by _his_ child _again_.

He truly did not want to care anymore. It would have been better if he could have forgotten her. If she could have faded from his mind. But that was the problem with Yuri. She had been so different and so strange that she could not be forgotten. No one else was anything like her. She was not greedy and jealous. She cared about other people; all people, not just the rich and influential ones. And she had been strong and brave. She did things on her own without trying to rely on everyone else.

He had been looking for that kind of woman. A woman like that would not be a ruin to her husband.

When he had found her he had meant to have her. But fate had never meant for him to keep her. She had never been and could never be his.

"General, you seem to be out late this evening. What are you up to?"

Ramses glanced up to see a pretty woman speaking to him. He smiled charmingly at her as he always did when addressing pretty women. "I was simply wandering around unable to sleep. I seem to be restless this evening." he leaned on the wall next to her and tilted his body forward so that he was looming over her.

The woman smiled seductively and straightened her shoulders so that her chest was even more displayed. Ramses took the invitation to look her over slowly.

She was something nice. Her body was sensuous and curvy just the way he liked them. And the thin white fabric of her sheath dress framed her quite well.

"Perhaps My Lord, I can help you with your...restlessness?" the woman said softly still smiling.

_I know this woman. Her name is long and she is engaged to someone, a wealthy merchant I think._ Ramses looked her over again wondering about how much trouble he might get in if he were to take her up on her offer. He was never to worried about what people would say about him, but if the woman was not going to be worth the effort then he would not bother to cause trouble by being with her.

He wondered briefly if another reason for sending him to Hattusa was to keep him from continuing to seduce the women of Thebes. But it was not as if they did not wish to be seduced by him. He was handsome and wealthy and famous. No woman resisted him, and there was no reason that they should.

Smiling with confidence and a little arrogance, Ramses reached down and stroked the woman's cheek. His hand trailed down her jaw, along her neck and over her shoulder.

_Her skin is quite smooth. _He thought grinning even more. He could not remember the woman's full name but she was willing, and he was in need of a pleasant distraction.

The woman shivered a little under his touch, and her body leaned toward him. Ramses took her chin and pulled her into a soft kiss that turned more demanding with each moment.

She sighed as she kissed him back. Taking his hand, the woman led Ramses to where her room was a few halls away.

_Her skin is very soft. _He thought chuckling to himself as he held her body against his own later that evening.

* * *

Ramses left the woman asleep and tired in her bed the next morning before dawn. He made his way down the halls to where his own room was.

_She shall be sore and tired today. _He thought grinning with the memory of his eventful night. His smugness over it did not last long again as he realized once again that he was not truly satisfied. His need had been sated, but he felt hardly any pleasure from it. Nothing beyond the normal. When was the last time that it had _truly_ felt good to be with a woman?

_Before her. Before I compared every single damn woman to someone I never had. _He thought angry again.

He shoved the thoughts away knowing that they would only continue to upset him. His wish to have Yuri for himself had not stopped him from enjoying the company of other women, but it had been increasingly difficult to find satisfaction with any woman no matter her looks or experience.

The others were all so much the same there was nothing special or different about any one of them, and Ramses was truly becoming bored with them. Soon he thought he might not be able to bother himself with their company at all. And then what? Would his large reputation of being a womanizer vanish? Would he have nothing left?

_Is that one woman going to ruin everything simply by existing in this world? _He thought feeling somewhat hopeless. He would never find another like her. He could never find someone who was enough to please him anymore.

They were all the same. Weak, greedy, and pathetic. He was not sure he wanted to bother with any of them. And the women in Hattusa would be no different. All women were the same. Yuri had been to only different one, and she was not his.

There was no one who he would find interest in anymore.

There was nothing special about these women at all.

* * *

**FINALLY!!!! He's back!!! ah gosh, if it is thinkable that a person could have a character crush then i would have one on Ramses. i mean really now, he is so hot!! lol. no i'm not insane i just think he's a great character and if he was real, wow. but he is my favorite and the story might move faster now that he's gonna be in it. still i want y'all to tell me if you think i'm not protraying the characters right. i mean it now, don't be mean but don't just let me turn these people into my ****own characters. the only one i think for is Kiara, everyone else i have to follow the pattern on. if i move off the pattern let me know okay? thank you so much. ;)**


	9. Face Up

**Hey I love to write this and y'all seem to like reading it so here's some more chapters. :)**

**I do not own the song lyrics in here. they belong to "Lights" who sung them. (the song is "Face Up")**

* * *

Kiara woke up slowly her head almost refusing to let the sleep slip away from her mind. The last pieces of a hazy dream fading from her thoughts and slipping into nothingness.

_I just want, to feel alright,_

_if at times you don't wanna wake up,_

_cause in your sleep it's never over when you give up,_

_the sun is always gonna rise up,_

_you need to get up,_

_gotta keep your head up,_

_look at the people all around you,_

_the way you feel is something everybody goes through,_

_dark out, but you still gotta light up,_

_you need to wake up,_

_gotta keep your face up...._

Kiara opened her eyes slowly and closed them again. She tried harder this time and she managed to get her eyes to stay open for more than a few seconds.

_Lights? Why am I dreaming of Lights's lyrics? _She wondered foggily. Then the thought disappeared from her mind as quickly as the dream had.

_Get up._ She told herself stiffly.

_Lay down some more. _She told herself.

The angel and the devil battling it out on her shoulders again.

This time she listened to both of them. With a grunt she sat up slowly and leaned back on the wall. She was still laying down almost but she was also getting up almost.

_I feel like dying. When was the last time I felt so tired? After working with daddy probably. _She rubbed her eyes hard and wondered about the leftover mascara.

_I must look like a horror movie. _She thought slowly. Her mind was still running as slow as a lazy cow. _I really need to take a shower or a bath or whatever it is that they do here in Bible time._

Her bag was on the bed next to her. She reached out and opened it up.

Someone had been looking through it.

She felt her neck bristle like a dog's and she became more alert and awake as she shifted around the see if anything had been taken.

Nothing was gone and they hadn't found everything.

Kiara sighed. The last thing she needed was for people to freak out and really start to think she was dangerous.

She looked in her bag again to try and see what she had inside.

There were about two changes of clothes, two pairs of shoes, make-up, face cleansers, a few books, paper, pencils and pens, and a few other nick-knacks that might prove useful later.

Kiara picked up the MP3 player and the cell phone from her bag and looked at them curiously.

The cell phone turned on but it had almost no battery and no signal. She snorted. Well obviously.

The MP3 was fully charged and fully functional. _Well, that might be nice if I have to spend more than a few days here._

She stood up and cursed loudly as she hit the floor.

_Ah holy crap and all crap that's not holy too!_ She shrieked to herself as she picked herself up off the floor.

Her ankles and knees hurt like all hell and every muscle she had was sore.

_That's what the hell you get for singing and dancing for two days and then coming here and having an all out brawl for the first time in weeks._

When was the last time she had practiced hitting someone in the gut like that? She certainly wasn't used to it anymore.

_Oh yeah, daddy would so be pissed at me these days._

She was sitting up and rubbing her feet when the door opened slowly.

She looked up and saw one of the maids there with a small platter of something. Bread and fruit it looked like.

_Oh gosh I'm so hungry. I want a burger, or a hotdog. _She continued to rub her feet silently as the maid who wasn't a twin put the tray of food on the small table in the room. The woman turned to leave.

"It wasn't an insult."

* * *

Hadi turned to look back at the woman on the floor. She was rumpled and looking rather awful. Obviously she was sore from the previous day's actions because she was rubbing at her muscles.

Hadi glared down at her coldly and lifted her chin. "I am not sure I know what you mean." she answered with ice.

The woman didn't look away from her feet as she answered with a light tone.

"What I said about you yesterday? It wasn't an insult. Pit-bulls are a kinda dog where I come from."

"Calling a person a dog? Is that not insulting in your country?" Hadi asked stiffly feeling even more insulted now.

The woman shook her head slowly and started to rub her calves now.

"A pit-bull is a mean dog that barks and bites a lot. It protects its house and its master. They are very loyal and sweet but they would do anything to protect their own."

Hadi didn't know what to say now. This woman was saying that she and her sisters were being dangerous, but out of their loyalty to Queen Yuri? Hadi knew that they would have given their lives to protect Yuri from any harm, but was this woman able to see that after just a few hours of being around them? Perhaps she was simply lying now. Or perhaps she was trying to make Hadi believe her so that she could gain her trust.

Hadi wasn't sure. She had been asked to bring food to the woman when she woke up but other than that the only instructions were to keep her from wandering anywhere.

The strange woman shook out her legs and then stretched them out. She ran her fingers through her twisted and tangled hair and sighed again.

"I don't suppose you have any place for me to wash up?" the woman turned her eyes toward Hadi. She had made a request but she didn't seem to believe that her request would be granted.

Hadi thought slowly. The woman wasn't supposed to wander but she did look terrible. And Yuri had helped to look through her bag for weapons but there hadn't been any.

"Would you like to eat first?" Hadi asked still feeling stiff and wary of the woman.

The stranger laughed and shook her head. "Like this? I feel as dirty as a dog is after rolling in the dirt." she stood slowly and picked up her bag.

Hadi turned to lead the way out of the room without another word and without softening at all.

_Only because she saved the prince. Even if she didn't know that he was who he was. _Hadi told herself firmly.


	10. Being Sherlock

Kiara sank into the hot steamy water and groaned softly. It felt so _GOOD_. Slowly her muscles loosened and she lost her soreness. She also could feel the dirt and sand come off her skin and hair.

She rubbed at herself and scrubbed her hair hard trying to get clean again. She didn't know how long she would be allowed to stay in here.

_It's pretty and big. Fancy. They probably don't let the servants use this for a bathroom. So why am I here? _She didn't try to hard to find an evil motive though. She just decided to enjoy what they had given her for now.

There was some sweet smelling soap and she lathered it into her hair and skin and then let herself soak for a while.

_I wish I had some conditioner. But I don't suppose it matters? No one else had deep conditioned hair here either._ She giggled and then sighed thinking about where and when she was again. There was a lot of things that she had taken for granted that they didn't have here.

_Of course I took it for granted. Things like toilets, and cough drops are everywhere in the 21__st__ century. It's not like I ever had to do without that stuff. I never even seriously thought about it half the time. Except when I went camping but that's not like this. That was for a few days, this is a lifestyle._

She wouldn't be here too long she told herself reassuringly. She would be going home and then picking up her life right where she had left off.

_Hey! What's Connie gonna do when I don't show up for work or answer my phone?_ She wondered for the first time. She fidgeted with the ends of her wet hair and frowned. Connie was her agent but the woman had no other clients. She hadn't needed any other clients when she worked with Kiara. She had had all she could handle then. But now?

_She got a lot of money working with me. And she can get someone else if she wants to.... _Kiara wondered about the people in Tennessee. What would they do when she never came home? What would happen? It would be on the news obviously. She was a world famous performer. Her disappearance wasn't going to just go unnoticed.

_Connie can take care of it right?_

What about the charities? She gave a lot of money to good causes. Would those charities still get enough money if she wasn't giving them any? And where would all her money go? Would it sit in the bank forever or would someone take it?

She groaned quietly and hated herself for getting into this mess.

_Connie told me to take the limo back. She told me not to go alone. Why the hell did I go alone? I mean, I nearly got attacked not long ago. Why did I go out on my own? If I had been in the limo I wouldn't have had to come here!_

_If you hadn't been here that baby might have gotten hurt._

It was her good angel trying to calm her down. She pushed it away unhappily and continued with her brooding.

After a while her skin was wrinkling and she was getting a little too warm.

_I can't change what's happening right now. I can only move on and wait for another chance to get what I want. Daddy always said that._

Daddy had always said a lot of things. And not much of what he said was ever of no use.

_I love you daddy. I wish you could be here to help me._ She thought sadly before sinking into the water until it covered over her head.

She thought about him as she listened to her heartbeat underwater. He would have been home on the ranch. Brushing out the horse or oiling the shotgun and shaking his head at the craziness of his teenage baby girl.

When she had to breath again she came back up from the water and got out of the oversized tub.

Kiara found a soft towel and wrapped herself in it. She looked at her bag and thought about the clothes inside. There was a mini-skirt, and another pair of blue jeans. She thought she had a pair of old softball shorts in there somewhere too.

_Hardly the clothes I want to wear if I don't want to look like a whore. She thought scoffing at herself. In the 21__st__ century? Hey no prob. In the old ages when women who showed their ankles were called harlots? Hell no. _She wasn't a slut and she didn't want to be called one by people when there was no reason for it.

"Um, hello?" she called outside the door.

It opened a little and the not-a-twin maid glanced inside.

"I was wondering if there is anything for me to wear? I mean I don't think my own clothes are quite...suitable." she said blushing a little as she held her towel around herself.

The maid seemed to find that a little amusing. She disappeared and shut the door. When she came back a few moments later she brought a plain white long dress along with her.

"Thanks." Kiara said as she held the dress up herself. It was a little long. The maid left the room and Kiara went back to her bag. She fished out some under garments and a comb. She ran the comb through her waist length hair until there were no knots then then she used a hair-band to make it into a high pony-tail on the back of her head.

She put on her underwear being sure to tighten her bra as much as possible then she stood and slipped into the long dress.

It was a bit loose on her waist and a little tight around her chest and hips.

_My butt's too big._ She thought giggling as she tugged at the dress. It was really very simply. Just a long white sheath dress with short selves.

She thought about how loose it was on her waist and she felt unflattering that way. She she went into her bag again and came out with a light blue scarf. She tided it around her waist and let the ends hang down. She looked down at herself and frowned. It looked nice but having her waist go in like that only made the tightness around her chest and butt more apparent.

_I thought I didn't want to look like a whore. _She sighed again and took off the scarf and put it back into her bag. She thought about putting on some make up but she decided not to. She just didn't feel like it today.

After putting her sandals back on and putting her dirty clothes in her bag she opened the door and stepped out carefully.

Two men stood to arms and looked at her warily and curiously. They were probably wondering how she could be the same person from before. She really had to have looked horrible before but she hadn't been able to bring herself to look in the mirror to see.

The not-twin maid stepped forward and Kiara started to follow her. Along the way back to the room that Kiara was staying in, the two guards from yesterday showed up to walk with them.

"Kash, Mettannamuwa." the maid said greeting them.

They nodded at her and stared at Kiara.

She glanced at them and then winked to see what their reaction would be.

They were surprised. She laughed.

"You should all loosen up. If you keep yourselves wound too tight for too long you'll hurt yourselves." Kiara said smiling at them playfully.

"Is that so?" the guy named Kash replied looking at her curiously. They probably couldn't figure her out. She felt a little bad for them about that. Most people couldn't figure her out.

"Yep. And if you break apart you won't be much help now would you?" she said still playing.

Kash smiled a little. "I do not suppose we would be." he exchanged a look with Hadi and Mettannamuwa.

_I guess they'll just have to get used to me on their own. They don't seem to want to trust me really. Who the hell is Nakia and what kinda crap did she cause?_

"So...how strong is your king?" Kiara asked offhandedly looking around the halls as she passed through them. She seemed like someone who was simply curious. She was acting that way on purpose.

"His Highness rules over all Hittites which is the leading power of the orient." Kash said as if it was obvious.

"The King is the highest authority here and Queen Yuri is second to his power." Hadi said as if that was an obvious fact as well. And it probably was; to someone who actually lived here.

"That's so cute. How long have they been in charge?"

"Queen Yuri has been our queen for the last two years." Hadi said looking pleased now.

"Was someone else married to the king before her?" Kiara asked picking up on the fact that Hadi had mentioned the length of Yuri's reign as if it was shorter than the king's.

"No; Queen Yuri is His Highness's only wife."

"Then there wasn't a queen before?" I tried to sound confused. It wasn't too hard. I was confused. And a good actress.

They seemed to become uncomfortable and a little angry. But they weren't angry at me.

"The previous king's third wife remained as queen until His Highness married Queen Yuri." Kash said softly and a little darkly. Kiara tried to sound more light and less like she was probing. She didn't want them to think she was fishing for too much info.

"Three wives huh? That seems like a lot. He must have been old to have had that many. Were they princesses? Where did they come from?" I tried to seem a tiny bit excited. Like some idiot little girl who hopes to play with unicorns. Well I liked unicorns and there was nothing wrong with dreaming about them in my opinion, but right now I didn't want to get tried for treason so I needed to focus and not get lost in fairy tales.

"His third wife was a princess of Babylon." Hadi said very stiffly.

_Looks like I found out who this Nakia is._

"What was her name? Was she pretty?"

"Nakia."

_Elementary dear Watson._ I thought feeling a little proud of myself.

"What a pretty name. From Babylon? Is she the king's mother then?"

"Queen Nakia is His Highness's step-mother." they were practically talking through their teeth now. They _really_ hated this woman.

"So Yuri is the queen now? And she and him have been married for two years? And she's having a baby. How cute." I smiled brightly still acting like an idiot. I wanted them to take their minds off of things that made them so angry for too long. There was always a chance of them turning that anger onto me and I didn't like that idea. Plus we were coming close to where my room was and I didn't want to leave them with the impression that I was too interested in this Nakia woman.

"This is her second child." Hadi said smiling now that she was thinking about someone she cared about.

"Really? Then who...?" I asked then felt stupid. Yesterday she had held onto that boy so tightly. "Don't tell me that the baby from yesterday?" I asked feeling stupid for missing that. So much for my pride a minute ago.

Hadi nodded her head and Kash chuckled a little.

I grinned stupidly. "Well what do you know? I saved a prince and I didn't even know it. How funny."

We came to my room then and Hadi opened the door to let me inside.

"Thanks." I smiled at them and walked inside. I dropped my bag onto the bed and sat down with a piece of bread in my hands. I chewed while thinking.

_They are still wary of me, but they might not hate me now. Maybe. That Nakia was a big problem from the looks of it. She was still a big person when this guy became king and she probably messed with him a bit. If Yuri is second to Kail now, then Nakia would have been second to him before. That probably means she had a lot of power. And she must have been sneaky too. They think she's been tricky enough to get me into here. Well they used to think that.... But she had to have been really clever. And terrible. A real problem. They thought I might be here to kill them. She must have been a real snake. And Yuri is their ideal.... _

Kiara thought over it slowly. It was kinda like a jigsaw puzzle. She had collected a lot of pieces in the little conversations she had had or overheard and it wasn't very hard to put them together. Not now that she knew where they went anyway.

_If she was really that bad then they aren't gonna trust me for a while just to make sure. They probably had to work real hard to get rid of her. She seems to have been queen for a while even after the old king died. And they think Yuri is better than her. I wonder about that. If Nakia was truly so bad then it wouldn't take much for anyone to be better than she was. So how good is Yuri? And how good is Kail and everyone else for that matter?_

She didn't know quite enough. She knew of their supporters opinions but about what other people were saying? If she really wanted to do anything then she needed to hear as much as possible. She didn't know enough about where she was.

_Well, I suppose the best thing for me to do while I wait to go home is to keep myself alive. And in court politics the best way to do that is to know every move your enemy and your allies make._

_Daddy would tell me to keep my eyes open and to be careful and not too cocky._

_Gunpowder and lead daddy. I'ma make you proud of your baby girl._


	11. Interrogation

They came to get me later. Five of them. Like I was dangerous or something so they sent five of their little guard people to take me down seventeen hallways and two flights of stairs.

I think they ran me around so that I would get lost. Too bad for them that I didn't get lost that easy and I kept good track of where I was going and where I had been already.

The people who took me on the fun little walk were Kash, Hadi and her two sisters who were glaring at me like they would love nothing better than to pull my heart out through my mouth or something.

Nice picture isn't it? I certainly felt nice and comfortable around their little glares. The other person traveling with us was the adviser guy but I think he was there to watch me rather than to try and guard me. Or guard against me. That was more likely.

Anyway he had probably heard about my conversation about Nakia with the others and he wanted to keep an eye on me to make sure I was really just curious and not trying to weasel information out of them.

If he thought that I was suspicious and dangerous than he was right. He had no idea how crazy and underhanded I could be. I mean I probably wouldn't hurt anyone who was innocent or anything but if they started to attack me without any good reason then I was entitled to self-defense and I knew exactly how to use that.

Keeping up my stupid girl act I asked lots more questions about the people we passed or anything I saw in the hallways. I didn't ask about anything in particular and I showed no signs of real interest. I acted like a tourist who came to gawk at everything and then forget everything the tour guide had told him later.

When we finally came to our destination it turned out to be a small meeting type room with a big chair at one end and a slightly smaller chair next to it.

The king and queen were sitting in those chairs looking at me.

"Hi y'all! Whatcha been up to?" I asked brightly and promptly dropped myself into the chair in the middle of the room that was obviously meant for the accused; which meant me.

They had probably meant to intimidate me a little. Well that hadn't worked and now they were a little surprised and unsure of how to continue.

"Um...." Yuri said glancing at her husband who was quite obviously curious but confused.

Like I said, I'm a hard person to figure out. A walking contradiction. One minute I'll hate your guts and offer to kick them out for you, the next minute I'm giving you a back massage and telling you jokes.

"We were hoping that you could tell us more about your situation here. Somethings just don't seem to make sense and we would like for you to tell us why." The king said sitting straight and tall in his chair. His expression made me think of some judges on crime shows. You know the nicer ones who are kinda sweet and really interested in justice and all? Well he was looking like one of them. He seemed curious about what I would say but he was also showing that he was in charge and he wasn't going to let me get away with anything here.

He was in charge and I was not was what he was trying to tell me without using words. I wondered if he even knew that that was what his expression was saying.

In any event I really didn't like people t They came to get me later. Five of them. Like I was dangerous or something so they sent five of their little guard people to take me down seventeen hallways and two flights of stairs.

I think they ran me around so that I would get lost. Too bad for them that I didn't get lost that easy and I kept good track of where I was going to be in charge of me. Its really an authority problem, I don't mind listening to people but when the people I have to listen to are stupid it really pisses me off.

It wasn't that I thought he was stupid, but didn't trust him to give me good directions when he didn't understand enough to make a good decision.

So let's just say that I don't listen to people that I don't trust.

"Well honey I would love to not be in the middle of a huge drought out in California, but that's just not going to happen. It's not that I don't want it to happen, its just that I really can't not happen."

They seemed a little confused and I decided to try and take it easy on them. I really wasn't helping their impression of me by being hard to understand. They probably thought I was extremely difficult.

"Let's try again." I said shifting in my seat, I sat forward a little and held my hands palms upward like I was trying to give them something.

"I would like to help; heck I would love to help. You think I don't wanna know why I'm here? Why I'm not at my home with my friends taking care of my job and my family? I want to be home. I don't want to be here causing tension amongst all you peoples. But I've already told you everything that I know. I don't know what happened. I don't know how I got here. I was walking through the park in Tokyo thinking about eating some late dinner and then the water jumped out of the river and dragged me down."

They again seemed surprised at my straightforwardness but I really didn't want to play such a stupid game I could avoid it.

"You really say that you know nothing?" the king asked again to clarify. Again I tried not to roll my eyes.

"That's what I just said; weren't you listening?" I replied shaking my head a little.

"That accent is strange." Yuri said suddenly. I think she was more curious about the fact that I was from a time-line that was closer to hers than she was curious about my possible involvement in her possible assassination attempts.

O_r maybe she's just trying to distract herself so that she doesn't freak out? Or maybe _she's_ trying to warm up to me so that _I _might say something. Tricky person. Possibly. Maybe. My head hurts._

_Then don't talk to yourself so much idiot._

_Go away._

_To where?_

I ignored myself. Or my-selves. Which was it?

"I was born and raised in the hills of Tennessee plains with a brief stay in New York. Its probably the southern that you hear. Gets a little thick sometimes so if you don't hear me right just ask me to say it again." I waved off the conversation casually. I didn't really like to talk about home with other people. It wasn't something that normal people could understand. And by normal I meant the people who spent their lives on the internet or got BlackBerrys when they were 11. People like that just didn't understand how awesome it was to just lay in the thick hill grass and stare at the sky all day long with your friends while none of you hardly said five words to each other the entire time.

_Oh gosh. I would give anything to be back on the hills with them all right now. _I shrugged the thought off and chased it out of my head to brood about later.

"Southern? Oh." Yuri said still sounding confused.

"Perhaps if you told us what happened before you became overtaken by the water?" the king asked refusing to believe that there was not something else that she could tell them.

Again, I fought to not roll my eyes. I can be nice sometimes like I said, but my patience was kinda thin right now and he was jumping all over it.

"I was walking back to the place I was staying at for the night." I said with a sigh in a boring monotone voice.

"Where from?" the adviser asked keeping the conversation rolling.

"A bar. Um...like a tavern here I think." I shrugged and put my elbows on my knees and rested my chin into my hands.

"What were you doing at a bar? You don't seem old enough." Yuri asked looking at me a little more suspicious now.

I scoffed feeling a little insulted. "Are you asking if I was there for fun or there because it was my job?" I asked narrowing my eyes a little at her. She blushed slightly.

But then I blushed slightly. I guess I had to say it now and that kinda bugged me.

"It was an after party. I had to go along with the rest of my co-workers." I sighed again. _Wow. Am I becoming an expert or something at sighing because I seem to be doing that a lot. Is there a record for a number of sighs in like a 2 day period or something? I wonder if I could win that._

"An after party for what?" Yuri asked. As the only one with even a slight understand of my world she was the one asking the questions now and would probably be 'decoding' everything I said now into terms that these people could understand later.

"Um...a concert?" I shrugged and hoped she would move on. But of course she didn't move on because like I said before all of my bad luck was coming today.

"A concert? Were you a stage hand?" now she was curious just for the sake of it. I wanted to tell her to back off of it but they probably wouldn't like that as it would look like I was hiding something. Which I supposed I would be but it wasn't anything that had anything to do with this.

_Damn the little curious cat that has crawled into her head. _I cursed to myself. Sometimes I don't quite make sense even to myself.

"No, no. I was more like the main attraction." I blushed and she looked completely stunned.

"You? A singer? Really?"

I frowned a little and stiffened up my back. "Are you saying you don't believe me?" I asked a little snappishly.

"Um no. Its just that...I don't know." she blushed a little and I wondered about her. She was a queen at 21 someone who had like me been snatched out of her own time-line, she seemed to have been dealing with a lot of corruption and was having her second child. After all that she still seemed to become embarrassed and shy so easily?

_Some people are just like that. And it could be better for them. _I thought waiting for her to finish whatever it was she had wanted to say.

"Its just that I heard that the southern Americans were...simpler." Yuri was very flushed as she said this. I had to laugh.

"Simpler as in 'red-neck-stupid' or as politer?" I asked not feeling offended. Lots of people thought that, and even though it was pretty annoying sometimes I could tell that Yuri was just curious about me.

She blushed even more and I wondered how much blood could fit into her cheeks.

"Well, there I do have a lot of southern hospitality sometimes, but I also lived in New York some of the time so let's just say that southern blood isn't the only thing in my veins." I was pretty sure she would understand what I meant. Even if she had been gone from the 21st century so long New York really hadn't changed all that much in ten years except to maybe get worse.

Yuri nodded her head seeming to accept that. Of course no ones else understood what it meant.

"What is wrong with the 'New York' that you mention?" asked the adviser guy. What was his name again? I swear I am the worst with names.

"Well New York isn't entirely bad, but there are a lot of places there that are rather dangerous and viscous places to be." I said shrugging a little. I had been to a few of those places before. Sometimes with someone and sometimes on my own. I hadn't managed to only be robbed once and never to be hurt. Well not really hurt. I had gotten into a lot of street fights. Sometimes I seem to rub people the wrong way. Hard to believe right?

Haha.

"Growing up in a hard town does is not a reason for knowing how to fight as you did yesterday. Where did you learn your skills?" the king asked narrowing his eyes a little at me.

I flipped my hair and scowled down at the floor. That wasn't something I wanted to answer. It wasn't I didn't want to answer more than anything else. If he had asked me what a _bra_ was I would have been more happy to tell him.

They waited for my answer. Every second that I sat here silent they were growing even more tense and suspicious again.

_Just say it stupid. _I told myself feeling a little nervous.

I didn't want to. I didn't want to answer this question that would bring up so many more questions and would force me to remember so many old memories.

"Kiara?" Yuri called a little stiffly.

_Why did they have to ask this question? And why did I have to be so showy yesterday? I coulda just run with the baby. But no. I had to stay and show off by taking all those creeps down to the dirt. Dammit._

"My father was a United States Marine. He taught me everything he thought I should know." _Which had been almost everything he knew._

Yuri gasped a little in surprise while the others still had no idea what that meant. Which meant I would have to answer more questions and give more explanations. I really hated that they couldn't just know what I meant right now.

"Your father was a marine?" Yuri asked still seeming a little shocked.

"Yeah," I sighed again for what was probably the thousandth time that day. "He was a sniper and a sergeant."

"Wow." Yuri looked up at the ceiling with her hand over her mouth as she thought about it.

"What does that mean? To be a 'marine'? Is it something to do with water?" Kash asked from behind.

I sat back in my chair and crossed my arms over my chest. "It means he was part of our army; part of one of the toughest parts of the army." I answered feeling a little cross.

Daddy was tough. He was steel. He was harder than steel. He had trained me hard from the time I was seven until about a year and a half ago when I became a superstar. Since then I hadn't really been doing much with my training. I had stopped practicing and just concentrated on my career which had taken off really well.

"And he trained you to be like a marine?" Yuri asked still looking up at the ceiling. I was beginning to categorize that as her 'thinking' look.

"Yup. I can drop a grown man to the ground as easily as I can hold my breath." I confirmed with a slight shrug.

You know? Call me crazy but they didn't seem comforted by this fact. Hey, they had asked the question and I had answered. If they didn't want to know what I told them then they shouldn't have asked.

The king glanced at his adviser and then he made a motion with his hand.

"You may go now." he said in dismissal. I was quite frankly irritated.

_Yeah sure with just a wave of your hand up I rise and walk away all demure and quite._

I stood up abruptly letting the chair hit the floor behind me with a clatter and then I marched out the door throwing it open as I went. My following guards came behind me but I was too annoyed to bother looking at them or to judge their attitudes. At the moment, I could care less what they thought.

That was probably stupid of me.

By why did it matter anyway?


	12. Playing With A Prince

"Ilvani." Kail asked standing up out of the his small throne. Yuri stayed still and watched him silently.

Ilvani turned to attention ready as always for instructions.

"What was your impression of the girl?" Kail asked. He wandered over to a small window and looked out. The view wasn't much. Just some grass and a part of the stone wall.

"She seemed to be honest with her answers even if she didn't wish to speak." Ilvani answered. He had been watching the strange woman very carefully in order to figure out if she would be a problem for them.

"Why didn't she want to talk? If she had nothing to hide she should have just said what she wanted to." Yuri thought slowly. She wasn't really thinking about the dangers of the woman though, she was actually much more thoughtful about what the woman had said about where she had come from.

_2009. That's years and years after I came here. _Yuri thought a little sadly. What about her parents? After 14 years were they still looking for her? She tried not to think about that. They would have wanted her to be happy. She knew that, and she could never have been happy without Kail.

"That is why I believe she is of no threat. Were she trying to gain our favor so that she might harm us, she would have tried to be friendly and told us everything. Her hesitation and anger only seem to make her more suspicious." Ilvani said looking at his king.

Kail nodded. He understood that. "If she was here to harm us, then she would be trying not to seem suspicious."

"We cannot under estimate her. That display yesterday in the gardens may have saved Deiru, but it gave us quite an insight to her skills. If she was of a mind to, she could be very dangerous." Kail thought about what she had said about her father. He had been some sort of military man.

And he taught his daughter who to fight as a man would? A rather strange thing to do. But perhaps not so strange in her world.

Why had she been so reluctant to speak of her father? They already knew she was strong and trained. Why did speaking about how she became trained bother her so? It was a confusing problem and something he might want to figure out.

"In the meantime Your Highness, what shall be done with the woman? We cannot simply keep her hidden. The commoners' talk is becoming more elaborate." Ilvani said after allowing the king to mull over his thoughts for a moment. Kail looked up and shook his head with a little irritation.

They were calling her a new goddess. They wished to know who she was and what she would do for them. They had at least stopped saying that she was to be his new concubine. A few quick remarks made about Ishtar being insulted by the mention of the king having a new goddess had stopped that talk. He hadn't ordered anyone to destroy those rumors, but he suspected the sisters in playing a large part in its deterioration. It was just as well though. He only needed or wanted Yuri.

"I shall decide what to do with her presently. For the mean time let her move around the palace with an escort. Keep an eye on her." Kail said as a way of dismissing the subject. Ilvani bowed at the waist and turned to do as he was told.

* * *

Kiara was allowed the wander around the palace. With an escort. She was cautioned not to go off on her own and not to bother anyone by trying to speak to them.

_In other words, you can exercise and let people see you, but don't talk to anyone and don't try to get out of your guards' sight or else you'll be considered as having tried to escape._

Kiara was in a foul mood. She tried to be nice and she was still a prisoner. With a huff she dropped directly onto the ground without any warning. She sat on her folded legs and crossed her arms over her chest glaring at the sky.

"What are you doing?" Hadi asked in surprise.

"Hmph." Kiara said grumpily. She didn't say anything else she just sat there angrily staring at nothing in particular.

After a while her anger faded as she lost her focus. Her thoughts slowly drifted to the hills back home. They were softer and more comfortable than where she was right now.

Kiara got up without saying a word and wandered around the garden some more. Finally she found a soft spot on the grass and partially under the shade of a tree. She dropped on the ground again, this time laying stretched out on her back with her arms flung out at her sides. She stared upward and just watched as the sky stayed the exact same color of blue. There were no clouds, there were no birds, there was nothing up there.

_Damn but this is boring. _She thought staring. She might have liked it on a different day, but today she was in a bad mood so everything around her had something bad about it.

"Bababa." said a soft laughing voice.

Kiara looked up in a way that tilted her head backward.

_The baby prince? _She thought as she looked at him.

He was smiling and staring down at her. His little round face was alive with cheerfulness and his big black round eyes were so young and curious.

"Hello." I said drawing out the word and saying it sweetly. He smiled and giggled at me. Smiling in response—cause how can you not smile at a cute smiling baby?—I twisted over onto my stomach and leaned on my elbows to look at him.

The baby smiled at me and reached out with his small hands. I knew my guards were around somewhere close by the watch me but they weren't interfering so I guessed I was allowed to play with the baby.

His little hands found their way to my face and I laughed as he patted on my cheeks.

_Babies are so funny. _I thought letting him reach for my hair next. He pulled on that a little hard making it loose from the pony-tail I had it in.

I reached out slowly to see if anyone would stop me. When no one said anything I took the baby by his little stomach and twisted around so that I was on my back and he was in the air above me.

He giggled and clapped his hands as I held him in the air. He was heavier than I had remembered but maybe my arms were still sore.

He kicked his little feet and I grinned as I watched him wave his little arms around in the air. He was having fun and I was forgetting that I was mad.

I sat up and put the baby in my lap. He immediately reached up and grabbed onto my nose. I laughed and pulled my face away from his fists. He was strong for someone so little and I didn't want any scratches on my face if I could help it. He was making small clicking sounds with his tongue and he continued to pat on my shoulder with his hands. I smiled at him and looked around for something to play with.

I saw the twin maids whispering not far away with a woman who was probably the baby's nanny. None of them looked very happy. I ignored them.

There was a stick nearby, and the grass was long here.

I reached out to grab the stick and the baby watched me with big eyes. I took some grass out of the lawn and started the weave some of it around the stick. The baby reached out to 'help' me every now and then and I had to either gently stop him or else start over. When I was done I had made something that resembled a horse.

I handed it to the baby and he babbled excitedly. The next thing I knew he was standing up and running off somewhere.

"Bye bye." I murmured watching him go. After a minute was bored again and feeling a little lonely too.

_Stupid. _I told myself. I stood up and brushed the borrowed dress off and went to wander around some more still very bored.

I was about the go back inside when something tugged at my dress. I turned to look and saw that the prince had come back.

He smiled up at me and held onto my skirt. In his other hand he waved the makeshift horse.

I laughed. "Your welcome." I told him patting his head. He said something along the lines of "bababa" again and then tottered off into the garden again. I saw that Yuri was watching and waiting for her son to come back.

I looked at her for a moment, then I turned on my heel and entered into the darkened palace.

"What is the baby's name?" I asked knowing that someone was nearby enough to hear and answer.

Kash walked out of his hiding place looking a little annoyed that I had known he was there.

"The prince is Deiru." he answered with only a glance in my direction.

I nodded and kept walking. There were more people around now and they were still staring and whispering. I wondered how many of them had seen me playing with the baby. What did they think about that?

I could have thought up about a hundred rumors all on my own so instead of going crazy I just ignored it all for now telling myself that I'd pay more attention later.

_That is, if you get a later._ The little shoulder devil said snidely.

_Oh shut up. They don't want to kill me now. At least I don't think so. I'm pretty sure they don't. _I answered the devil before the shoulder angel could butt in.

Oh no, I haven't gone crazy yet.


	13. New Drama

It was two weeks after I had come to this place.

I was outside with Deiru sitting in the sunlight and enjoying the warmth while keeping an eye on the young prince-ling. He was running around on the grass playing with the two grass horses I had made him. I was his 'nanny' now. I was the one who was supposed to play with him and keep him from getting into trouble.

I had gotten the position they day after my conversation in the meeting room with the king and queen. Yuri had seen Deiru playing with me and it had been obvious that he liked me.

I was still under guard now. Even more so now that I was around the kid. But I guessed it was a test as well as something to do with me. If I made a move on the baby they would know I was up to no good and if I just kept him safe as I had that first day then they didn't have to worry about me.

The rumors about me had died after the first week. I guess I was boring to everyone. I talked funny both in the words I said and the way I phrased things. Plus sometimes when I was loud or mad or something you could hear my southern accent even more. I looked funny to these people; it disappointed a lot of them that they thought I wasn't very pretty. I did that on purpose. I knew that the hair-style I was using here wasn't the best look for me; the high tight pony-tail. But I didn't much care if they liked me. I was still waiting to go home.

But really once it was obvious that the king ignored me and that I was practically a servant here, the others had really just not paid me any attention. They had written the whole thing off as my being some sort of 'demi-god' who was sent here to help serve Ishtar.

I had finally figured out that I did know Ishtar now. When they had told me that Yuri was Ishtar and that she had been the king's concubine before he was even king I had remembered that Ishtar was supposed to have been a god of war, love, fertility and even sex. When I had remembered that I had been standing next to Yuri. I flushed something awful then and when Yuri had asked me what the matter was all I could do was mumbled and try not to laugh out loud.

Still now that the rumors had disappeared, the aides closest to the king and queen had less reason to hate me. They still didn't like me much I was sure, but their open distrust and anger had faded away so that they were polite to me if nothing else.

I was very bored. These two weeks had passed by really fast and nothing more had happened. Deiru was cute but was that all I was going to be able to do now? Play with the baby?

The water in the well in front of the temple was still mysteriously gone and no one had any idea why. I had heard Hadi discussing it with her sisters. They had said that the king sent someone to check on the well everyday but there was still no water.

I stood up from where I was sitting on the ground. Deiru saw me and he ran over giggling and talking in baby talk while his bright sunny face grinned with amusement.

I took his little hand and he curled his fingers around one of my own. We went back to the nursery room where Deiru played and slept. On the way though I saw the king and Ilvani walking through the halls. The king seemed very irritated by something.

Nothing had happened lately but I had a feeling that this was something I might want to know. For one thing I hadn't seen the king look so annoyed since I had first gotten here. For another thing I was just plain curious. But it really was a good idea to try and keep an eye on everything going on around here.

"Hadi? Can you watch Deiru for a minute? I think I'll go to the kitchen and get him something to drink. He looks a little thirsty." I said handing the baby off to Hadi who was more than happy to take the baby.

I walked out of the room quickly and started walking. I didn't look around knowing that Kash was here watching me.

He or Mettannamuwa were always the ones to follow me if I went some where. I was sure it had something to do with them being the most trusted by the king and the best generals. The fact that Hittites were not at war with anyone right now meant that the generals had lots of time to keep an eye on me.

I wondered if they were as bored with their new job I was bored of being here.

It wasn't hard to get away from Kash without his even realizing it.

I got away from Kash and then walked quickly toward where the meeting room that they had brought me to was.

I got there before the king which was exactly what I had wanted.

I slipped inside the room and found a hiding place quickly. Not a minute later the door opened and the king entered along with Yuri, Ilvani, Kikkuri and Shalla.

"What's wrong Kail?" Yuri asked. She was very very pregnant these days and Kiara was sure that the baby would be coming in a few weeks at the latest.

"Nothing is _wrong_." Kail answered still annoyed. He moved over to a small table and started to finger with some tablets there. Yuri didn't think much of the brush off so she went to stand by her husband and looked him straight in the eye.

"What is it?" she asked staring at him. He looked away and sighed.

"We are simply getting a new liaison from Egypt in a few days." he said plainly and with no emotion.

_A new one? Well it seems the pharaoh finally developed some brains. _I thought listening and watching. The current 'liaison' between Egypt and Hattusa that was stationed here was a complete idiot. He was constantly listening to stupid rumors and he was far too gullible.

Since I had been here I had learned that the current pharaoh was named Horemheb and he was an idiot as well. Despite knowing the name of the pharaoh I still couldn't remember anything I had learned about Egypt's history and that continued to bug me.

"The are sending in someone new? Then Horemheb has finally seen how terrible the current man is." Yuri said exactly what I had been thinking and no doubt everyone else's thoughts as well. "But why is that I problem?" Yuri looked to Ilvani for an answer now since Kail was obviously not willing to answer.

"That this man is leaving is not a problem. I believe what...concerns His Majesty is the identity of the new liaison." Ilvani said with his usual blank face.

"What? Why would someone from Egypt bother—. Oh." Yuri looked at the king who was once again looking over some tablets that had problems for him to solve.

"Kail, is the new liaison Ramses?"

_Ramses.... _I thought the name to myself and it rebounded around inside my head. _Why does that name seem so...? _I shook my head trying to banish the funny feeling that was seeping through my thoughts.

"It is indeed General User Ramses who will be staying with us in Hattusa in just a few days." Ilvani sounded a little less blank and a little more annoyed himself when he said this.

Since Ilvani had a habit of thinking of his king and queen more than himself I wondered if the adviser had his own dislike for this general or if his annoyance stemmed from the fact that Kail was so upset by the man.

"Why are they sending Ramses? He didn't ask to come did he?" Yuri looked a little worried by the idea and I got the feeling that there was a big reason that she didn't want to see the Egyptian.

They all obviously knew him and were not pleases to have to see him again, but Shalla seemed outraged again and Yuri seemed worried and Kail seemed anxious.

_Now where have I seen this set up before?_ I thought sarcastically to myself. _Only on every soap opera they ever made._

No one had said anything yet to confirm my thoughts but I was rather certain that the reason the general and the king wouldn't get along was because of the queen. That made sense because Yuri herself was worried over the general's coming and because Shalla was so upset. Shalla, Rui and Hadi only ever got really upset when it directly involved Yuri.

_So was this Ramses an old lover or just another man trying to come between a happy couple?_ I started to listen to the conversation again but I didn't get much more out of it. Just a lot of comments about how annoying the general was and how the reason he was being sent here was probably because the pharaoh simply didn't want him in Egypt anymore. Yuri was trying to reassure Kail that just because Ramses was coming it didn't mean anything and on and on.

I had learned some interesting stuff but now I was bored. They weren't saying anything I couldn't figure out for myself and I had to get back to Deiru soon or I might get in trouble.

After a few more minutes of boring talk everyone finally left the room through the back door in order to take care of somethings.

I waited a few more minutes after they were all gone, then I slipped out from where I was hiding. I left through the front door of the room and hurried the halls to until I was near where I had left Kash behind.

I let the man catch up with me. He looked very angry at me. Before he could say anything I snapped at him though.

"Where have you been!? I've been wandering around for hours!" I said shouting at him. He stopped and stared at me confused.

"What are you talking about woman?" he asked angry himself.

"This palace is so big! Its stupid! How am I supposed to find my way around when the palace is this big! And the halls are all the same! And no one knows how to give directions! I ask for the kitchen and three people sent me to a bathroom!" I shouted loudly and walked down to the end of the hall.

"What are you doing?" Kash asked following me.

"Going to the kitchen!" I snapped. I opened the door at the end of the hall and found myself looking into a empty storage room.

Kash chuckled behind me. "Two weeks here and you're still getting lost?" he asked shaking his head.

"Well usually I have people telling me where to go. But no one gave me the right directions. Go left, turn right, up the stairs, down the stairs." I sighed and flushed a little embarrassed.

"Come on." Kash turned and started leading to where the kitchen was.

I followed behind him grinning smugly.

_Sometimes I love being me._ I thought happily as I congratulated myself on not getting in trouble again.

~~~***~~~

I was lying on my bed trying to sleep that night. There was a small window in my room and it was letting in the pale moonlight.

Tomorrow we were going to be heading to Byblos, a port city where we supposed to meeting the new liaison and switching him out with the old one.

_User Ramses...._ I wondered slowly as I slipped into my dreams._ I wonder what his coming will mean._


	14. Playing

HAPPY NEW YEARS EVERYONE!!!! YEAH 2010!!!!

here's another chapter! thanks to everyone who reviews for me and to everyone who bothers to read this. you guys are great. :)

* * *

Kiara pulled the dress on over her head and tossed her jeans back into her bag.

_I still don't know why I had to come. _She grumbled to herself. She didn't mind leaving the palace which was so boring and closed in, but that she had to come to Byblos and be stared at by lots of different people was not fun.

_I've been stared at before, even when I wasn't famous but this is just creepy. They keep looking at me like they think I'm gonna start shouting fire out of my eyes or something._

She left the small room that she had be given in this little palace they were staying in. she was grateful that she didn't have a roommate. She was a sociable person most of the time but she did not want to be around anyone right now. Not when they all thought she was weak or whore-like or something equally annoying.

The royal party had been traveling for the past five days to get here. She had worn her blue jeans most of the way cause they were more comfortable on a horse than the tight-skirted dresses that people wore here. It had been a taxing few days cause Deiru had been impatient most of the time.

_Why did they bring him along? If they had left him home they would have left me behind too._

Kiara walked out of the room she was staying in and went to look for something to help with. Deiru was sleeping and he would probably be out for a while so she had to find something else to do with her time.

Since they were moving into this palace even if for just a few days there was a lot of unpacking and cleaning and other things to be done.

Easily Kiara moved into the flow and helped with carrying things or unpacking and setting up stuff. The other servants had looked at her curiously at first, wasn't she supposed to be a goddess? But they were glad for the help so they just let her help.

After a few hours of moving around carrying heavy trunks of stuff and bringing towels or blankets or whatever all over the place Kiara got bored and wandered outside.

_They don't need me anymore anyway. _She comforted herself. Most of the work was done and dinner was going to be made soon. _I feel so closed in lately. I think I'll go look around._

I wandered outside the palace wall and into the town.

There was a lot of stuff going on. People wear buying and selling, talking and working, running back and forth and just standing around.

I was wearing a dress again and my hair was up in its boring pony-tail so I didn't stand out as I walked around. A few people looked at me, mostly men I noticed but I just shrugged it off and kept looking around. Everyone looked at everyone else. That was just the way the world worked and if you'd ever lived in the City for a while then you'd know that. It didn't always mean something, and sometimes it could mean everything. Who knew? I didn't. Most of the time anyway.

It was nice to just wander around without people actually staring at you cause they thought you were a goddess or something. I liked the freedom to move again. No one was following me. I guess they hadn't thought about guarding me when they had to actually guard the royalties now.

The town was bigger than I thought it would be and it was pretty. But when I looked more I noticed that some things weren't so happy as you'd think they would be. There were a lot of people walking around who were really thin and hungry looking. I saw some people sitting on the ground all dirty. I knew enough to know that those were the homeless.

I started to feel bad. There was a near famine going on around here. I had heard about that. It made me feel bad. But I was nothing here, I couldn't help these people. I had no money and no influence. I had nothing here.

I was brooding a little when I noticed the loud shouts coming from nearby. I wasn't the only one either. A lot of people were stopping to stare or whisper at something.

I was little, so it was easier for me to edge my way to the front to see what was going on. I mean, I had to be in the middle of things didn't I? I could never just stick to my own business.

That was my more pessimistic side speaking. She shows up now and then, and I like to roll my eyes at her and she rolls hers back.

There were two men standing face to face glaring at each other and shouting all kinds of foul sailor talk.

_Oh please. Macho men having a shoving match on isle 5. _I thought irritated. Then I heard what they were shouting about and I got really pissed off.

One of the men was an _Egyptian_, the other was a _Hittite_.

Almost nothing pisses me off more than racism. Well...right now anyway. Tomorrow it might be murders or something but today it was definitely racism.

"Egyptian scum! Go back to your sand dunes!" the Hittite shouted.

"Country bumpkin! Hittites rely on a woman to win their battles!"

they were shouting about Yuri now? Or had it started about something else? Did it matter?

They were about to started hitting when I moved in.

I was little so no one noticed me even when I stood directly next to the two idiots fighting in the streets.

_Here we go._ I thought to myself as I reached out.

I grabbed each of the men by their shirts and pulled down really hard.

They hadn't noticed me before, but they did notice me after I caused their heads to bash into each other.

"You little bitch!" the Hittite shouted rubbing his forehead and glaring at me. The Egyptian was cursing under his breath and scowling.

"You babies! Stop acting like children and act like the men you're supposed to be!" I shouted to both of them. I stood glaring hard at them with my hands on my hips and my feet firmly planted in the ground. They both stood well above me height wise and they were both soldiers I realized.

_Oh fun. Inter-military fighting._

"If you were not a woman I would kill you for that." the Egyptian said growling as he flexed his muscles.

"Darling if either of you could even touch me I'd be impressed." I said rolling my eyes for effect. Both of the men growled.

"Look, just because you look different it don't matter. You both live in the desert and both of you have hard heads. So just knock it off and stop fighting like two-year-olds."

I was so full of tack right? But some people really needed a kick in the butt more than they needed a pat on the back. I was thinking that head-smacking these two was probably the most effective thing I could have done.

They glared at me with deadly eyes and I stared right back without flinching or showing the least bit of fear.

"I shall never befriend this cheat who uses the help of gods to win all his wars!" the Egyptian said insulting the Hittite and his whole country even more.

"Then don't be friends with him." I said before the Hittite could make a retort. They both looked at me surprised and confused. They were not sure what I was saying.

"Don't be friends with him. You don't even have to like him. But don't just jump in and start breaking bones just because you live in different countries." I said shrugging and loosening up a little.

They stared at me and everyone else stared at me confusedly too.

"Just find some way to get along or otherwise avoid each other." I waved my hand dismissively trying to throw all of the anger out of the door so that no one else would get hurt.

"Some way to get along? With him!?" the Hittite shouted pointing at the other man.

"Sure."

"How?"

"Um...." I looked around. How to make people get along? I looked around. What did these people need? More food? To stop fighting definitely. What else?

I spotted a few kids standing in the crowds. They looked sad. Like they hadn't had any fun in a long time. That wasn't right. Kids should always get to have fun. They had to work sometimes too, to do their homework or their chores but kids should always get to have some fun.

That was it.

"Play!" I shouted smiling! The two men stared at me incredulously. Like I had four eyes or something. I was getting that look a lot lately.

"You want us to play like mere children?" the Egyptian asked mockingly. He and the other man had already started to turn away no longer interested in the strange little woman who stood there yelling at them.

"YES!" I shouted happily. They jumped in surprise and the crowd was murmuring in laughter. "If you're playing then your having fun! And if you have fun, then you stop thinking about how much you hate someone! And you feel better!"

"I have a lot of fun." the Egyptian said leering at me. "My 'fun' is very entertaining." he looked me up and down slowly grinning like a lecher the whole time. The Hittite next to him chuckled.

I scowled and crossed my arms over my chest. "Whatever, but I still think you should try having normal fun." I said pouting. Without waiting for either of them to say anything I walked over to the children and smiled.

"Let's play a game." I suggested smiling.

There were five kids, all Hittites. They looked at me then at each other. There was on in the front holding bundle of rags and he seemed to be the oldest and the one in charge. He nodded at me.

A few moments later the five kids and I were throwing the ball back and forth at each other. It was fun.

A lot of the crowd was laughing and I knew they were mocking me, thinking that I was naive. But it didn't matter. I had at least made these kids happier. That was good enough for me.

After a few more minutes more kids had come to join our game when they saw how much fun we were having. Two of the kids who joined us were Egyptian.

Half an hour later there were adults playing and there was more than one ball being thrown around.

It was getting dark out. Someone was lighting lamps and candles around the streets and there was less mocking laughter and more people simply having fun.

I wondered how long it had been since these people had been happy? Since they had forgotten their troubles and just had a good time?

I heard music coming from somewhere and quickly went to find its source.

Five men were playing on different instruments and they were of mixed races.

I smiled and started clapping to their beat. I wasn't the only one.

People were dancing. People were running with each other. Racing for fun, playing children's games. And they were happy.

I saw a lot of Egyptians and Hittites mingling together. And some other kinds of people too. Everyone was having fun. I had somehow managed to start a mini festival in the streets. I could hear shouting and laughter coming in from all over the place.

The Hittite man who had been fighting in the first place came to find me after a while. He grinned at me apologetically and I laughed softly. I danced with him for a while just having fun, then when the Egyptian he had been fighting with showed up, I challenged both of them to a race.

The Hittite won the foot race, but the Egyptian turned out to be the best at throwing.

Everyone was having fun. No one was sad or mocking anymore.

Some people had started to pass food around, and anyone who was hungry got something to eat.

I laughed as I danced to the fast fun strange sound of the very old music instruments.

I hadn't been this happy since I had come here either.

So far, being Byblos was a good thing.

* * *

"Where is that woman?" Hadi asked after seeing Yuri gently tuck Deiru back into his bed.

"Her? I don't know. She hasn't been around for a while." Yuri answered shrugging.

"Perhaps she is outside in the town. They've started quite celebration out there." Kikkuri said coming into the room carrying another blanket for the young prince.

"Celebration? For what?" Yuri went to look out the window. There were a lot of lights outside in the town streets and now that she was listening she heard shouts of laughter too.

"I am not sure. Nothing was planned, but about an hour ago they simply started to celebrate like that." Kikkuri shrugged and went off on his next task.

"How strange." Yuri said patting on her lips in thought. Why would they be so happy? Had anything happened? She didn't think so. In fact, she thought there was a food shortage here. That was something Kail had wanted to look into while he was here.

_Well if they are happy that is a good thing I guess. _Yuri went off to see Kail. Maybe he knew something?

* * *

Kiara was having fun in the streets so she didn't notice that while she was lifting everyone's spirits, some of the people had been whispering about her.

Someone had recognized her as the woman to have come up from the well on Ishtar's celebration day in Hattusa.

They were wondering what kind of goddess she was to so easily play with children and challenge men who were much bigger than she was.

But even though they did not have a name for her, nor did they know much about her, they were beginning to think that she might be a important and special person after all.


	15. Nakia and Getting In Trouble

****

Someone brought to my attention the fact that I left a few things without explaining them. I'm sorry, I'm still a little new at this and I really need to proof read better but here is a chapter that will hopefully explain a few things. Sorry to anyone I confused.

**This won't count as my normal Tuesday chapter I don't think, but school starts again in the morning so I might be posting less or late or something.**

**Thanks to everyone who reviews or reads!!! Love y'all!**

* * *

Kiara flung herself down onto her bed and breathed in deeply. It was late, she was exhausted. Physically, mentally, and was there another way to be exhausted? If there was, then she was tired that way too.

_I head wouldn't hurt so bad if that whole goddess thing hadn't come back up._ _But of course it did...._ she breathed in again and curled up among the blankets.

Towards the end of the party when everyone had started to head back to their houses for sleep she had finally noticed that the stares of the people were once again the kind of stares that you used when staring at something amazing or awe-inspiring. She wasn't either of those things but they seemed to think she was.

"They believe that you are a goddess brought here to bring harmony back to the Orient." Tezel had told her noticing that she was uncomfortable from all the stares. Tezel was the Egyptian who had been almost fighting before.

Kiara had groaned softly and clicked her tongue with impatience. "They think that?" she had asked.

"Yes; and they wonder who you are." that had been Sutan, the Hittite that Tezel had been fighting with. By the end of the night they were actually on good terms with each other. That was a funny thing about some people, they were often too alike to get along and sometimes that made that hate each other and other times that would eventually lead them to being good friends.

"I'm Kiara." I had answered them feeling a little small. "Just plain old strange Kiara."

Both of the men had smiled at me. They had said their goodbyes to me and even patted me on the head like I was a little kid and then they had left talking together about something I hadn't bothered to try and hear.

Kiara kicked off her shoes and got under the bed covers. She pulled the pillow under her head and stared at the wall. It was dark and there was no window so she couldn't see the wall but she stared in its direction anyway.

Why had they even come here? What was the point of a _king_ coming to greet a _general_? If the general was a prince then maybe, but he wasn't. Horemheb had no son, it was another way that he failed at being Pharaoh.

_Kail_ wanted to see the situation. He wanted to see the condition of the town, he wanted to see the attitude of the soldiers from Thebes. He wanted to keep an eye on the general. Blah blah blah blah.

And Yuri had come because? She was pregnant for pity's sake! She would be lucky if she didn't go into labor riding her horse on the way back to Hattusa. But Yuri was _bored_. She didn't want to be left behind again. She had been left behind for the past few months but this time she wanted to come. And apparently no one knew how to tell the all awesome Ishtar no.

I buried my head into the pillow and let out a big breath and an irritated groan. Why was I here?! And not just in Byblos, why was I here in Hattusa, in _pre-plumbing_ time anyway?

I was being selfish. I felt tired and messed up and I was being selfish. All that talk of being a goddess really just meant that I was different in a weird way. It meant that I belonged elsewhere. And that was true. I belonged in a flat in New York or on a farm in Tennessee. I didn't belong here. I didn't want to be here. No one else wanted me here either.

Just why was I feeling so lonely right now? I had just been at a fun awesome party. And now? I dunno. I felt lonely. I hated feeling lonely. Why did I feel that way anyhow? I liked being alone. I mean, being around people all the time was totally awful. I liked being alone.

But I couldn't stand being lonely. And I was here.

Maybe its because they kept talking about Ishtar and how wonderful she is. And about how wonderful the king is. Who wonderful they both are. And every time they said thanked to gods for sending them Ishtar they would look at me as if expecting me to do something for them too. Like make it rain or something. But I can't do anything. And when they figure that out then what? I won't be a goddess. I'll be a stranger that no one likes.

_I wanna be home Daddy. I want you to be home too. I want us the be sitting there eating pizza and watching those old westerns where the good guy always wins the fight and gets the girl._

I missed him. And right now, I wished more than anything that he hadn't been a marine. That 9/11 hadn't happened. That he was back on the ranch fixing the old pick-up truck and waiting for me to come home from school. If he had been home I wouldn't have left it. I wouldn't have gone to Tokyo and I wouldn't have come here.

_Stop acting like a spoiled baby and get over it._

But I didn't want to. I wanted to just lie there and feel horrible and alone.

_Well... I told myself curling into a tight ball. You've got all night._

* * *

Kail slowly took in a big breath and walked through the open door.

Inside the door was a small room with a thick carpet and some lavish furniture. On a beautiful chair in the middle of the room sat a woman.

She seemed to be in her 30's. Her blond hair was piled high on her head and her body was covered in glimmering jewels of every kind.

Nakia looked at Kail through hooded eyes with almost no expression on her face.

"Your Highness." she said slowly as if forcing the words from her mouth.

"Stepmother." Kail nodded his head slightly and kept his eyes on her. She was dangerous and no one knew that more than he did.

"Why is it that you have come here to my exile? Did you wish to see me trapped in my confinement?" she asked trying to keep the contempt out of her words.

"I merely have a few questions for you Stepmother, after I have asked them and you have answered, I shall be on my way." he took a few steps closer and looked down at her. Behind him the doors closed and he heard the guards take their positions just outside the wood. They would be on alert. Kash and the others had asked to come with him but he had refused. He had come alone to see this woman.

"Ah yes, you are busy today. General Ramses is coming to Byblos to greet with you." Nakia said still looking at him through narrowed eyes.

Kail nodded his head slightly in acknowledgment. It was not unusual that she would know that. It was public news.

"My first inquiry Stepmother, is as to what you have been doing these last few weeks."

Nakia nodded seeming to have expected this question. "Do you refer to the story of another woman springing forth from the well?"

Kail looked down at her waiting for her reply to the unspoken question.

"Should you chose to believe me or not, I had no part in this woman's arrival." Nakia raised her chin daring him to doubt her words. He could have, he had heard so many lies fall from her lips, but this time he thought she was telling him the truth. Looking her over, Kail saw that while she still held her high pride around herself like a robe, she had lost her will to fight. She no longer cared for the troubles or fortunes of the Hitties.

"Have you no idea about this woman?" Kail asked. It was a disappointment and a relief at the same time. Kiara's coming was not a plot by Nakia which could only be a good thing, but he still had no idea how the woman had gotten here.

"Perhaps were I not imprisoned here I would have heard something more about this, but being so closed in...I do not get the same information that I used to." that time she could not hide her anger at him. He ignored her words though he narrowed his eyes a little watching her even more closely.

"Do you perhaps think this woman shall be another curse to you? I would not be surprised. There are many others who would gladly dispose of you or your...fertile wife. And not all of the people you should be wary of live in Hattusa." Nakia grinning slowly wickedly as she baited Kail with the idea of him or his precious Yuri dying.

Kail held himself upright and looked at the woman coldly. He no longer had to use formalities around her now that her true-self had been revealed, but were he to challenge her as she was challenging him, then it would only cause to arouse her humiliation and anger all the more. Nakia was a snake, the best thing to do with her was to leave her lying dormant in her cage.

"I thank you for your time Stepmother." without another word he turned around and swept out of the room without looking back at her.

"Be careful Kail, if you fail to recognize your enemy you won't see him prepare his strike to kill you." Nakia called tauntingly from behind his back. He let her talk, her words meant nothing to him but they were all she had left.

* * *

Kail threw his cloak off onto the bed of his room and loosened the sword he kept at his belt and threw that to the bed as well. It was merely a decoration now. He didn't think he had used it since the last battle of the war. Still he wore it at times partly out of habit, and because as a soldier he felt more secure with it around.

He wasn't allowed to be alone for long. The door opened without a knock and Yuri walked in wobbling a little.

He avoided looking at her for a moment and waited for her to start.

"You went without me!" Yuri accused standing directly next to him. He looked down at her upturned face.

"I said I was going to." He said with frank honesty. Yuri looked at him frowning angrily. He had said he was going to go without her. He had meant to go to Byblos without her altogether. She had managed to get to come along but it seemed that he had outdone her anyway.

They hadn't come to this town to meet with Ramses; they had come to talk to Nakia.

"You shouldn't have gone alone!" Yuri said still mad at him.

"I told you before we left Hattusa, I'm not allowing you anywhere near that woman." Kail moved away from Yuri to sit on the edge of his bed. As he had hoped she came to sit next to him. She was much too far along to have come with him, but he had been unable to convince her to stay home. Once he had heard the Ramses would be coming into Byblos he had thought to use the chance to get to Karukemishu which was only short horse ride away from Byblos. He had wanted to know once and for all if Kiara was one of Nakia's people.

Yuri hadn't wanted him to go see Nakia alone for obvious reasons. When he had absolutely refused to let her come along, she had shouted at him and had even thrown all the pillows and blankets in the room at his head. When that still hadn't bothered him she had sat in a uncomfortable wooden chair for hours, refusing to eat or move or do anything. She had only spoken just long enough to tell him that if he had gone without her, she would sit in that chair until he had come back.

It would be at least a ten day trip. He knew Yuri enough to know that she might get up from that chair before the end of ten full days, but she wouldn't have moved for a long time and she would injure herself that way. Telling her over and over again that he would not allow her near Nakia had done no good. Finally he had been forced to let her come thinking that he would still go to Karukemishu without her.

And once it was decided that Yuri was coming, they had had to tell the servants that Yuri was bored and simply wished to get out of the palace. They hadn't wanted everyone to know that they were actually going to ask Nakia if Kiara was supposed to be an assassin. And with both Kail and Yuri leaving Hattusa along with all their most trusted guards, they hadn't dared to leave Deiru behind alone with Kiara, not when they still had doubts.

"I was not alone, Kash, Mettannamuwa, and Kikkuri were just beyond the door." Kail glanced down at Yuri and saw that she was very angry with him. He decided to try to not to anger her any further.

"But if she had tried something maybe they wouldn't have gotten there in time! Maybe she could hurt you or—" Yuri was working herself up into a panic as she once again thought about all the things that could have happened while Kail had been alone with Nakia. She had known she shouldn't come, she had her baby to think about, but she could not stand the thought of Kail going to see Nakia alone.

Kail stopped Yuri's flow of protest by pushing her backwards onto the bed. He leaned over her and gently stroked her cheek.

"Here I am, she did not try anything just as I was sure she wouldn't. I have returned here unharmed to see you again." he said soothingly.

She blushed a little. "If you didn't think she would try anything then why couldn't I come?"

"For the same reason that you did not wish me to go." he answered her smiling down into her deep black eyes. Yuri blushed again as her anger started to fade. Kail was right, he was here, he was safe, they were both fine and safe and together.

"Then, what did she say?" Yuri asked softly.

Kail sighed and laid his head down next to hers on the bed. "This wasn't caused by Nakia. Someone else has brought this woman into our lives."

"Then what do we do? Should we try asking her again? Or maybe have Ilvani look harder or...."

"I'm certain that that woman has no idea about this, and Ilvani is already doing as much as he can. There is simply nothing to hear. No one knows anything about her, nor about why or how she got here. If we just knew _what_ she was here for, then perhaps it would be easier. But so far the only thing she has done is watch over Deiru and talk very loud with a very strange vocabulary."

Yuri sighed and closed her eyes. She didn't think that Kiara seemed dangerous, but it was still an annoyance that they didn't know for sure.

After a few moments she lost her train of thought as Kail continued to softly stroke her face. She opened her eyes again to see him watching her carefully. She blushed even more. Would she ever get used to how beautiful he was?

Kail saw the blush and smiled softly. He leaned in and kissed her lightly on the lips.

There was a knock at the door.

Kail cursed silently. "Yes?" he called breaking away from Yuri.

"The Egyptian's ship has arrived now." Ilvani's voice said from the other side of the door.

Again Kail cursed knowing that that meant that Ramses was here. Yuri reached out and patted Kail's shoulder reassuringly. She knew he hated Ramses as much as the Egyptian hated Kail, and while she had respect for the general, she wasn't altogether too fond of him either.

"Understood." Kail called back to Ilvani. He stood from the bed and gathered up the sword and his cloak again. Once he was ready he held out his hand to Yuri. She took it gladly and stood up awkwardly.

"Shall we go then?" he asked smiling down at her. Yuri smiled back at him and squeezed his hand.

"Lead on Your Highness." she said laughing lightly. He squeezed her hand back and they left together.


	16. Eyes Only

**Ok!!! now things will get fun!!! Now we get moving along with the story here!**

** First Ilvani and Kiara have a 'fun' conversation together, and then the moment that everyone is waiting for XD!!!!!**

**Thanks for the reviews everyone!! Keep them coming please!**

* * *

Kiara managed to get up the next morning. She wasn't happy that she had to get up but she did so anyway. Her eyes felt dry and sticky and she had slept in her clothes so she was also rather crumpled up.

Cursing at herself for sitting up half the night complaining to herself, she changed out of her wrinkled dress. She picked up the spare one she had and sighed. She really needed to ask for a bigger dress. As it was the ones she was wearing now felt too tight and uncomfortable. But she hated to have to ask. She didn't want to have to explain that her body had fully matured so young. She wasn't going to grow anymore ever; unless she grew fat. But she was still short and still a teenager so her matured body looked very strange. When she was 20 or so no one would care anymore, it wouldn't look strange then. But for now it did look a little weird.

Kiara cursed again at her growth-spurt a year ago and pulled the dress on over her head.

_Once my face is as old as my body looks then no one will think I've had plastic surgery or something. I mean, this is the average size. Just not for someone who is only 17._

Kiara pulled on her sandals and walked out of her room. She figured Deiru would be waking up soon and seeing as how she had skipped out on half of the day yesterday, she should probably make sure she was helpful today.

Ilvani seemed to agree with her.

"Kiara." he called dryly from a little court hall as she passed by.

Kiara cursed to herself recognizing that as the international tone of, "you're in trouble now."

"Yeah?" I asked stepping a little into the room. He was looking over a tablet with his back to me. A few other servants were moving around in the room most of them also carrying tablets and looking very business like as they went on with their jobs.

Ilvani did me the favor of waiting until everyone was out of the room before he turned to look at me.

_Here it comes._ I thought a little nervous, but I stood my ground. This tall, thin guy was _not_ going to scare me.

"Were you aware that you came to Byblos as a care-taker to the young prince?" Ilvani staring at me with stony cold eyes. I shifted a little.

"Yes I—"

"And were you aware that it was your job to be there to care for the prince should he need you?"

"Yeah but—"

"And were you not also aware that by your wandering away without informing anyone of your departure you forced us to not only waste time in searching for you, but we also had to find a replacement to watch the prince in your stead, meaning that we had to pull someone away from their previous job."

"I didn't mean to—"

"Did you even consider what would happen if someone tried to harm you while you were outside the palace walls? Did you not even consider that someone might attack you or try and use you to get into the palace?" with every accusation his voice became colder and his eyes more steely. I stared at him shocked that he could actually be so intimating.

"Do you realize that—"

"Ok I'm sorry I'm sorry! I screwed up, I know!" I shouted loudly before he could keep going. I closed my eyes and clenched my hands to my sides feeling like an idiot for being so completely self-centered and stupid. "I'm not used to having to report to people! I wasn't thinking!"

I stood there with my eyes squeezed shut. Ilvani said nothing but I could feel his cold stare on me.

"Perhaps I should have taken the time sooner to tell you your position here." he said finally. I cautiously opened my eyes to look at him. He didn't seem anymore forgiving so I but my lip and waited to see what else he would have to say.

"You, a strange rather impudent girl, arrived very suddenly into this place with no reason for being here. You furthermore had no respect for anyone around you and continued to act on your own. Had we not already known of the strangeness of your world from our queen's life there, then we would have assumed you to be a treasonous fool from the beginning."

I pulled my arms tight around myself and listened silently ashamed at how I had acted. I was a fool. I wished I could have changed that, but it was too late now to changed what I had already done.

"But our queen vouched for you telling us that your country was full of people just like you who were insolent and disrespectful."

_I can't really disagree with him can I?_ I thought sadly. Lots of teenagers these days weren't all that sweet now were they? "And you believed her." I said softly thinking that the only reason I hadn't been tossed out on my behind was because they had decided to listen to Yuri.

"She has worked hard for our trust in all of her time here, and her efforts have saved our lives more than once."

I felt horrible. It would have felt better if he'd just slapped me or something. Instead he forced me to see that I was the one who was wrong. I was the one who was acting pig-headed and stubborn. If I hadn't been so angry that they didn't trust me from the beginning I could have helped work past all these problems from the beginning.

Ilvani said nothing for a while; he just watched as I stood there hating myself.

I chewed at my bottom lip with self-loathing. Ah daddy, if you could see your baby girl now and the mess she's made of herself.

I sighed softly and finally looked up. Ilvani just stared at me silently. I couldn't see any emotion in his eyes. He was hiding whatever he was thinking very well.

I didn't know what to say. Saying 'sorry' was kind of redundant at this point.

Ilvani turned away finally. He picked up a tablet again and began to write on something.

"The prince will be waking soon. Do not fail your task today."

I couldn't tell if I was forgiven or if I would be punished later or something. I had been really stupid, and I had really misjudged him too. I had never thought he had so much strength in him. It wasn't the obvious physical strength but he had a strong will. And sometimes having a strong will was better than all the brute strength in the world.

I turned on my heel and strode quickly out the door trying not to flee like a pathetic little girl. But why did that even really matter?

I felt horrible. And stupid. And ashamed. Everything was all my fault. Or mostly my fault.

_Damn pig headed temper._ I thought to myself. But I was too depressed to even feel really mad.

Someone informed me that Deiru was already awake and had been taken to the garden to play. I went off in search of him.

I stepped out of the palace halls and into the bright morning sunshine. I flinched and covered my eyes from the intensity of the light. There was a wind and she had forgotten to tie her hair up that morning. It floated on the wind in soft, brown waves.

_Which way...? _she wondered looking around. She didn't see anyone so she just took off for the front of the palace wondering if he was in that direction.

I kept up a slow run as I looked around occasionally pushing the hair out of my face as I searched for the baby prince and whoever would be with him at the moment.

As I went I passed by the main entrance hall of the palace. As I ran over the pathway I finally saw someone but he wasn't who I was looking for.

It was a moment.

In later years I would look back on this moment as the one that changed my life. You'd think the moment I was swept into a whirlpool was the life-changing moment for me but that was nothing to this.

I ran over the path but I suddenly noticed someone there on the path to the side of me. How I had missed him before I wasn't sure, but I saw him now. I turned my body to face him and I stopped running to stand there in front of him.

All I could see was his eyes. They were different from each other. One was brown, and the other was deep gold color.

It was instant. Like a tiny wire forming. I was gone, all I could see was those eyes staring directly into my own.

Time had slowed down, it had stopped. Forever was happening right now and I could barely breath, I couldn't think. I could only see his eyes. I was lost to them and time had stopped so I would forever and always be lost.

In reality it was only a few seconds but I was branded. I didn't even know it yet.

Someone rushed past me, right between me and this man with the incredible, beautiful eyes.

I blinked and looked down, the moment broken, the spell over. I saw Deiru running across the lawn and heard Shalla behind me calling after him.

With a gasp I took off across the grass running after to tiny but surprisingly fast little prince.

I didn't think to look back and see who the man was until I was already farther away. I stopped suddenly, a flash of memory occupying my mind as I saw those eyes again.

I glanced back over my shoulder to look back and see who those eyes had belonged to.

The man was standing there looking in my direction. I looked away quickly, blushing, not wanting to get trapped again. I ran after Deiru who was rather far away by now.

_He was Egyptian. _I thought to myself slowly as I recalled the tan-brown color of his skin. My mind wasn't focusing. My thoughts were sluggish and muddled.

It had felt like forever, but it had only taken a few seconds for my life to be torn away from what I knew and thrown into a path I would have never thought to take.

* * *

Things are exciting now aren't they? lol.

In the next chapter Ramses finally sees Yuri again--and Kail too. ^-^ That chapter will be rather fun to write since it's gonna be kinda tough to keep everyone in character. It should still be up on next Tuesday though, see y'all later!


	17. Formal Reunion

Ok so here we go!!! What people have _really_been waiting for! Kail and Yuri meet Ramses for the first time since the peace treaty was signed!!! What will they say? How will Ramses feel when he see the woman he loves standing by the man he hates? Let's find out huh? XD

First a note though, I know that ten-twelve years after Yuri and Kail's wedding Ramses is supposed to have like, 10 concubines and 16 kids, whether I stick to that information or change it, well I'm not telling. ;p

Another note as well, I know that the names of the characters, Ilvani, Rui, etc, are spelled differently sometimes. Ilvani=Ilbani, but I did take the time to look up what the ''offical'' or supposedly offical spelling was and it's also too late to go back now and change all the spelling and if I just completely switchedit around after 16 chapters that would be a little weird so, I'm really sorry if the name-spelling bugs some people, but that's just how it is. Sorry.

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17: Formal Reunion

Ramses walked slowly not really wanting to get to the palace at all. Once he was inside he would have to go and greet Mursili and her.

_Dammit_. He thought angrily to himself. He straightened his shoulders and continued on with his normal confident stride. He would _not_let himself be intimated by the great Hittie king nor his goddess wife.

He was walking up the path to enter into the palace. The few servants he had brought with him were unloading the ship in the port. He was here on his own for now. He didn't feel unprotected really but he did feel anxious. For more than one reason as well.

She came around the corner so fast that she was already very close before he turned to look at her.

The woman raced across the lawn of the garden. She stopped suddenly, taking notice of him standing there.

Startled by her sudden appearance he looked at her curiously.

She had blue eyes.

_Blue eyes? It is a rare sight to see blue eyes in these lands. _He thought slowly, but he felt disconnected. He knew that the wind was blowing; the had felt it on his skin and he could see it moving her hair—brown hair, another rarity. He knew that the sun was shinning down bright and hot, but he could not feel the sun's warmth. Nor could he feel the wind's pressure. He felt disconnected from everything around him. Except from the blue eyes that seemed to blaze so intensely.

What was it about her eyes? That they were a rare color was certainly an interesting thing to wonder at, but it was more than that. Her eyes seemed to blaze of strong thoughts and will. He could almost see strength radiating from her eyes. And passion. Not the warmth of desire that he had seen in so many womens' faces, but the fervency of someone who was spirited and determined.

Curious he wanted to glance at the rest of her to see who she was and what she was like, but he could tear his gaze away from her young face and the strange eyes he saw there.

She was staring at him just as intensely as he watched her. After a moment however, the spell that seemed to have been cast over them vanished.

There was a small rush of wind as a small body ran in between Ramses and the strange woman. He distantly heard a female voice calling out the name of a child.

The blue-eyed woman looked away from Ramses finally releasing his gaze from her eyes. Without a word the woman began to run again in the direction that she had come from. She chased the small boy who was running across the grass with surprising speed.

Ramses watched with interest as the woman stopped suddenly. She looked over her shoulder to glance at him again. He saw her pale face and a flash of blue before she turned away and began to run again. He continued to watch her as she ran noticing the fast stride and the rather quick speed of her run.

_She was short. _He thought feeling surprised at the look of her. She was short, her brown hair was long and it flared out behind her as she ran. He could only see that she was slender before she disappeared quickly around the corner.

Ramses was feeling rather stunned and startled by the whole thing. Some strange woman had come out of no where and held him captive by her very different eyes. Then she had disappeared as suddenly as she had come without a word being said by either of them.

He shook his head beginning to feel a little annoyed. As interesting and intriguing as the whole episode was he had something important to do and he did not need to be too distracted.

He shook his head slowly hearing a child's laugh in the distance somewhere. He turned and continued on inside the palace.

He saw a few guards around the doors. They asked him to wait while they sent a messenger to inform the palace of his arrival.

Ilvani showed up in a few short moments.

Ramses with his arms crossed over his chest and looked the familiar adviser straight in the eye.

"General Ramses." Ilvani said nodding his head in perfect agreement with the formal rules that such meetings followed.

"Ilvani." Ramses said drily. They continued to look at each other blankly for just a moment longer before Ilvani turned to the side and motioned for the General to follow him.

Ramses walked silently behind the king's adviser. He glanced at the halls they passed through and watched the people they passed with an uninterested look on his face. He could already tell that he was going to be highly bored and irritated during his stay here. Bored because he would have to follow the rules for the most part and irritated because of the constant reminder of Mursili's supposed greatness.

They came to the small throne room too soon and too late for Ramses. He both wished to never have to do this and to get it over with. He hated to have to see Mursili's smug face.

Ilvani walked through the door. Ramses had to take his sword off first and hand it to one of the guards. No enemy weapons were allowed near the king.

Handing his sword over with a warning glare at the guard who held it to make sure that it remained undamaged, Ramses walked into the room.

It was not as terrible as he could have imagined.

Both Kail and Yuri were there sitting in their little thrones at the back of the small room. The meeting hall in Hattusa was bigger and more grand but this entire castle was of a smaller scale.

Ilvani introduced him as if they didn't all know each other rather closely.

Ramses forced a small bow from himself as custom demanded him then he returned to his arrogant pose and stared icily at the Hittie king. Kail like-wise stared back at him with no friendliness.

No one said anything.

Ramses forced himself to look at her.

She was still so small even though her stomach was so large now; swollen from the child that would soon be borne of her. He fought back a grimace as a wave of jealousy passed through him.

Mursili was indeed a lucky man. He had his powerful kingdom with all his subjects so loyal to him. He had the most powerful armies thanks to his iron and to Egypt's decline. And now he would have children thanks to his wife who was herself probably the most important thing he possessed.

Ramses hated Mursili a lot. In fact he hated the man almost more than he loved Yuri.

Which was what gave him a way out of his annoying situation.

One of the things he wanted most was to make Kail uncomfortable or embarrassed.

Ramses grinned his killer smile that had always made the woman of his choice weak.

"Hello Yuri. It's been a while hasn't it?" he said loud and cheerfully.

Kail scowled while Yuri blushed in embarrassment at the way things were already turning out.

"You should address _my_ _wife_by her proper title." Kail said gritting his teeth in anger.

"But we are such old friends; close ones, in fact." Ramses said grinning at Yuri again before facing Kail. Ramses was laughing inwardly.

_Damn bastard. If I have to be here I might as well have what fun I can._He would see just angry and annoyed he could make Mursili. He knew the man well enough to know that Mursili would keep his cool and not risk doing something that would break his precious treaty. Ramses wouldn't push him hard enough to start a war, but he could still push him.

"After all we spent quite a bit of time together on a small, cramped boat. And those nights in Egypt sometimes got rather warm." Ramses shrugged his shoulders and threw another warm glance in Yuri's direction.

Kail had to visibly restrain himself from saying something loud and no doubt very rude. Ilvani who was standing nearby with Kash and Mettannamuwa and the Sisters sighed softly. The others all glanced at each other tensely. This was really not going well.

"General, how is your sister?" Yuri asked. She placed one of her small hands on Kail's clenched fist to try and reassure him.

Ramses shrugged again but a little less arrogant this time. Nefert was strong and almost always showed a smile, but he was aware that she had been very upset by Rusafa's death. He thought that she might have let go by now, but she had yet to show interest in anyone else yet.

"Nefert sends her regards and says she is quite bored without having you around to look after." Ramses smiled again at Yuri but it was no longer the cocky grin he had showed before.

Kail seemed to have regained his composure at this point. "We will be leaving for Hattusa in two days. Once we are back in the capital you will be able to use the embassy as your own home during your stay with us." Kail said drily trying not to show any of his emotions anymore.

"I know the embassy. I've stayed there before." Ramses was bored again. The only things left to say were various political phrases. He supposed that he could have flirted with Yuri some more to taunt Mursili, but he did not want his joke to end too soon. It would probably be his only source of amusement for the long months of his exile here.

"Until we leave, you shall stay with us in this palace."

Ramses nodded his head as he knew he was required to. He truly hated having to show Mursili any respect. Not that the man did not deserve Ramses's respect, but he hated to have to acknowledge that the man was in any way superior.

"Then I shall see how my people are settling things." Ramses stated staring coldly at the king. Kail nodded his head in agreement. Then more than happy to have Ramses off on his way, Kail waved his hand in dismissal.

Grinding his teeth silently, Ramses bowed no lower than was necessary and turned to stride out of the room. Just before the door closed behind him he heard Yuri say something with a sigh.

"Well...that could have gone worse."

Ramses snorted softly. It could have gone worse. He could have challenged the king to another fist fight. But he had managed not to.

The guard gave Ramses his sword back and then the general followed a servant through the halls to where he would be staying for the next few days.

They were in the upper level of the building just about to turn another corner when Ramses noticed someone passing in the hall beyond.

He looked closely and recognized her as the same woman from the garden. She was easy to identify because of her long strange brown hair. She was holding a black haired child in her arms and he was squirming and trying to release himself from her grip.

The woman smiled at the boy as she walked and Ramses heard what she said before she passed out of his sight.

"Now now baby boy, you have to be good or you'll have to stay in bed again."

Ramses continued to follow the servant to the rooms he would be staying in. once he was there he looked over his new surroundings and grimaced. The Hitties' taste in decorations were very different from those of Egypt and he was not overly fond of them.

He strode to the window and looked out at the brightly light sky.

"_Now now baby boy...."_

_Strange woman. _He thought again remembering her eyes and the mesmerizing stare from earlier. Now he had a voice to go along with her face.

"_It could have gone worse."_

Yuri's voice filtered through his head as he looked at the sky. He put his hands on the window's edge and leaned against it with a sigh.

_Yuri._

A hundred other things that she had said swept through his thoughts. Unable to contain them, he let himself think of her silently for a moment. Then trying once again to forget her or else at least push her from his mind at the moment, he went off to find his servants and see how they were settling his things in.


	18. Trying to Help

18: Trying to Help

Kiara sighed softly as she left the small nursery room. Deiru had been a little monster all day today. First he had continued to run around and around the palace gardens never being still for a moment. Then he had become hungry. Well she had given him some food and he had thrown it all over the palace walls. Annoyed with him she had cleaned up the mess only to find that he had covered himself in dirt and grass. She had had to clean him up as well. When he was finally clean she had taken him to bed. If ever she had met a baby in need of a nap or a time out it was now. Of course she hadn't been able to yell at him either. She could only smile and try to be sweet cause he was too young to understand her anger anyway.

_Is this punishment for yesterday? Did he plan this with Ilvani or something? _She though pulling her hair up into it's ponytail. Deiru had also managed to pull on her hair quite a lot while she was 'helping' him lie down for a nap.

She had nothing else to do now but lots of energy to burn. She went slowly down the stairs noticing that all the servants she saw were rushing about a lot.

_They must be shorthanded here in this littler palace. We didn't bring a very big staff with us. _She felt a little more guilty about running out yesterday. They probably could have really used her help.

She found herself near the kitchen where she thought Hadi or Ilvani might be hanging around. Maybe they had something for her to do.

No one she knew was here. She glanced inside and quickly backed up again. She bumped into someone from behind. Quickly turning around she saw a plump elderly woman staring down at her.

_Is everyone in this place taller than me? At least back home half of the other girls were as short as I am._ Kiara thought standing straight and looking at the woman carefully.

"You can come in here and help." the woman ordered holding up a wooden spoon and pointing toward the kitchen. She must have been the chef or something.

"Okay." I said softly following her into the room. I liked to help. I froze once I was inside the room though. "Um, actually, I don't think I should."

The woman looked at me and I was reminded of dad for some reason. She had the same kind of commanding presence that he had. It was a leadership thing. I thought I had a little bit of it too, but I was still too young for it too work yet. "You will help us cook supper for the king and queen." the woman said her voice making it almost impossible to argue. But I _had_ to argue.

"But I can't cook." I protested trying to back out of the room slowly.

She looked at me incredulously. "What kind of woman cannot cook for her husband? Only a princess would have no need of such skills." it was quite obvious that she didn't think I was a princess which meant I had no excuse.

"I know, but I really _cannot_ cook." some of the other women in the room who were baking various things giggled at me.

"Fine. Do not cook. Put those trays of bread into the oven and watch them. Do _not_ let them burn." the woman said pointing with her spoon. I was sure that she would be a general herself in another life.

_This is very bad...._ I thought to myself nervously. I had washed my hands and now I was carefully putting a few trays of bread into a strange old-fashioned oven which made me think of a big stone pot.

It did not take them long to see why I did not like to be in kitchens.

* * *

Hadi handed Ilvani a few more scrolls with some news on them when they both heard the distant rumble and screaming.

They, along with quite a few others, raced toward the kitchen.

The kitchen was filled with thick black smoke that was streaming out the doorway and windows. The cooks inside were coughing heavily and racing to get outside.

"What happened?!" Ilvani shouted over the mayhem. Someone had gotten water and was helping the cooks to clear their dry throats.

"One...one of....the ovens....exploded!" said a younger cook between choking for breath.

"How did that happen?" Hadi asked helping to distribute the water.

The head cook, stood almost doubled over as she coughed heavily. "I told...that...her...she...." the woman tried to speak but she was unable too.

"I _told_ _you_ I _can't_ cook!" Kiara whined loudly as she sat on the ground. Ilvani looked at her surprised. He hadn't noticed her there because she was covered in black soot from head-to-toe.

"What did you do?" he asked her loudly.

"All I did was put the bread in the oven! And I watched it so it wouldn't burn!"

"I think it burned." Ilvani said drily as he looked around. Most of the smoke was gone now, although the walls would need a good scrubbing. And as far as he could tell no one was hurt and nothing was too damaged. Although most of the food was covered in soot and would have to be replaced.

"I said I can't cook." Kiara was rubbing her hands off on her dress which wasn't helping because her dress was as dirty as she was. "But I can help clean up, I'll just go in back there and—"

"_**NO**_!"

* * *

I was banned from going anywhere close to the kitchen. And not just _this_ kitchen, I wasn't supposed to go near _any_ kitchen. Which was fine. The only things I could make without burning or melting or otherwise destroying the food was cereal, Jello pudding, and PB&J sandwiches. If I was really careful I could manage to reheat my leftovers too.

_I really did try to warn them. How the hell did that oven explode? All I did was put in the bread. And nothing was wrong until I tried to take it back out. Then it started to spit black smoke at me._

I was sitting bored in my room. I was cleaned off and wearing my blue jeans again since both of my dresses were dirty. They wouldn't even let me help clean up the mess though. It was probably a good thing because I might cause something else bad to happen.

I wondered vaguely if some of the wine I had spilled before had gotten into the bread? It had only been a little wine and I hadn't noticed until the bread was already in the oven....

Of course to say the oven exploded was wrong. The inside of it had caught on fire or something but it hadn't broken apart or anything.

I was bored and feeling bad. I heard slight noises outside the window and being curious as I was, I went to look.

Kikkuri was on his way toward the stables.

If Kikkuri was going out that probably meant the king was going out....

I picked up a shawl I had gotten and threw it around my shoulders. It covered up most of my top half and even part of my legs so I looked like less strange here.

I left my bag behind after grabbing some chap-stick and then I ran out of my room and went through the hallways and down the stairs.

* * *

Ramses had been about to go down to the docks and check on his ship again. He had wanted to make sure the captain had understood his orders. They weren't hard to comprehend but this captain was rather green and Ramses wasn't practically pleased to have had to use him. But the pharaoh hadn't given much time for Ramses to prepare and many of the other captains and boats were off doing something or other under pharaoh's orders. Ramses suspected those orders probably came from pharaoh's wife and they were probably commands to go out and find more rare treats and special items for the woman's pleasure.

_I swear the only thing that is ruining Egypt faster than incompetent pharaohs is treacherous greedy women. The only good think about Horemheb's wife is that unlike Nefertiti she is not smart enough to cause a large amount of damage. Even at her worse she is controllable._

Ramses's day was further darkened when he realized that he wasn't the only one who was going out to the docks.

The two guards who usually followed Mursili everywhere he went came out to the stables as well. Ramses doubted they were simply going on a break.

_Damn man._ Ramses thought crossly. Mursili had to go out just when Ramses was leaving? Was he doing this on purpose or would it be just as annoying a coincidence to him to?

Kail came out of the palace walking slowly and speaking softly with Ilvani who was holding a scroll in his hands. When they saw Ramses waiting for a horse to be brought to him Kail's face tightened just a little as he tried to keep his face cleared of his distaste for the general.

Ramses glared at him evenly until they were both distracted by a flurry of movement at one of the palace's side doors.

Ramses looked in surprise as the same woman from before came out of the palace. She had on a dark blue shall around her shoulders but the rest of her clothes were very strange. She seemed to be wearing a short tight shirt that only reached her hips and had very little selves that came just beyond her shoulders. On her legs were leggings that seemed a little similar to the type of attire that some dancers wore. Only the fabric was neither sheer not close fitting. It was a light blue color and seemed somewhat thick. He also noticed that her brown hair was damp. Had she been bathing in the middle of the day?

_Who is this woman?_ He wondered looking at her very strange clothes. He had never seen anything like them. Her whole person was...unique. From her blue eyes and long brown hair all the way down to her strange little sandals.

The woman walked directly to the king and held her hands together in front of him like she was going to beg him for something. Ramses noticed that she neither bowed nor lowered herself in anyway.

"Please can I come with you? Please please please?" she chanted almost hopping up and down in her apparent excitement. Kail looked down at her surprised.

"You wish to come? We are merely going to the mayor's palace. It is on the other side of the city."

"I know I know, but Deiru is sleeping and I'm _bored_." she dragged the word out slowly.

Kail looked at Ilvani not feeling particularly happy with the prospect of the woman coming but she didn't really bother him too much either.

"Of course, if I stayed I could help out in the kitchen again." the woman looked pointedly at Ilvani almost as if she was daring him.

"No no. You may go if His Majesty allows you." Ilvani said quickly. The woman turned back to the king. She put her hands back together, turned her head to the side and put out her bottom lip in a small pout.

"Please please please, pretty please?" she asked with sad looking eyes.

Kash coughed to hide his amusement. The king sighed heavily. "If you start to cause problems I'll have you sent back." he said turned away from her to face Ilvani again.

The woman jumped up quickly laughing. "Yay!" she shouted before running into the stables. Kikkuri could be heard inside shouting in alarm at her sudden and bouncy arrival.

Ramses watched her when she had left and he felt very curious. She acted so strange. Like a child. So young and carefree. Yet he had clearly seen her taking care of a child.

_Deiru...Deiru is the name of the young Hittie crown prince._ Ramses thought throwing a sharp glance at Mursili who wasn't looking at him. _That woman, who seems like a child herself, is responsible for watching the prince? _He didn't know whether to laugh at the idea or not.

He thought of his strange meeting with her that morning. Her eyes then hadn't been child-like in the least. Nor had the rest of her. He could clearly see her profile and outline in his memory. No, she had seemed very mature that morning. And now? It could not possibly be a separate person but it seemed like it was.

"That was Kiara. The new goddess who came during Ishtar's festival."

Ramses looked toward Kash who had noticed the Egyptian watching the strange girl. Ramses kept his arms crossed and his face blank as he looked at the man. Kash was just like Rusafa had been; strong and incredibly loyal to his king.

Ramses had heard small rumors of another goddess in Hittite courts, but he hadn't paid much attention to them. Outside of the Hittite empire the rumors were highly disbelieved and thought to have been made up so that the Hitties could earn even more power and influence.

"_That_ was your new goddess?" Ramses said scoffing. He looked over at Mursili who had turned to him with distaste on his face. Ramses smirked and laughed softly. "A new toy perhaps? Until your wife is available again? You seem to prefer the inexperienced sort." Ramses scorned turning away again.

He thought Mursili was about to answer sharply but then Kikkuri came out leading fully saddled horses. A separate servant also brought Ramses a horse.

A second later a large brown stallion pranced out of the stables proudly swinging its tail. The small blue-eyed woman sat on it's back easily. Her shall was around her waist now as she pulled lightly on the reigns to stop before the men.

"Aren't we heading out?" she laughed since none of them was mounted yet. Without waiting for an answer she turned her very big horse and easily began a walk around the stable area.

_She handles that big animal very well for such a small person._ Ramses thought mounting up onto his own horse after a moment. While he had scorned the woman out loud in order to taunt Mursili he did not believe she would turn out to be a naïve child. Mursili had proved before that he had a good eye for women, Ramses wondered if the man had found another possible gem in this wide and dry desert.

Ramses didn't particularly care about the new 'goddess', but he would be sure to keep an eye on the small woman in order to determine her usefulness.

Perhaps he would not be so highly bored in Hattusa after all.


	19. To The Docks

**Posted early cause it's MLK day and I got the day off and cause I'm in a good mood. :) Enjoy!!  
**Noticed though that I didn't get many reviews last week. :( Makes me sad; please don't forget to review cause if y'all don't tell me what you think I might be tempted to throw in some highly unneeded stuff to just to see who's paying attention. :p in other words, please review!!!!

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**19: To The Docks**

Once she was given the okay to come along by the king, Kiara ran into the stables.

_Even though it was rather obvious that he didn't really want me to come._ She thought with a sigh as she grabbed onto the door frame and swung inside the very big barn.

"AHH!" Kikkuri shouted as she suddenly appeared behind him.

"King said I could come too!" Kiara announced sounding like a two-year-old. Kikkuri huffed slightly in annoyance at her strange arrival but then he turned aside to continue preparing some horses. There was a separate servant in there also working with one of the horses.

"Which horse do I ride?" Kiara asked following Kikkuri closely. He stopped suddenly and she really rammed into him from behind.

"I'll pick a horse for you in a minute. Probably that one over there." he said gesturing to a small white pony.

_A white pony? Like, come and save me with your noble steed type white pony? _She grimaced in annoyance. She was not going to ride the baby _pony_. She wanted a _horse_. And she found one easily.

"Whose horse is that?"

Kikkuri seemed to know who she was talking about without even turning around. "That is Queen Yuri's horse Aslan. No one can ride him except Her Highness." he said it so matter-of-fact-ly that she just had to go and look at the horse. It was like, a demand of her to go see the horse who could only be ridden by the small Japanese girl.

"Hey! Be careful over there! Geez...." Kikkuri resolved to ignore her. Aslan had a temper but if she wanted to be so foolish then she could use the lesson.

Kiara stepped directly up to the stall that the big black horse stood in. As if the horse knew what she was there for, he put his head out of the stall and looked down at her.

_He's gorgeous._ Kiara thought smiling. "Hey beautiful." she cooed softly. She put of her hand so he could sniff at her.

Aslan tossed his head with a snort and looked at her sideways.

Kiara chuckled taking the message easily. "You're a one rider kinda fella aren't you?" she said pulling her hand away. She turned and leaned on the stall post and looked at him but she stayed out of his space and unimposing. Aslan turned his head to keep her in view.

"I'll bet you like to run huh? Nice and fast. Probably the fastest horse around aren't you? Yep, you sure look like it."

Aslan lowered his head slightly and nickered softly. He liked her. Maybe it was because of her flattery. But he liked her. And this small little person reminded him of his Yuri. When Kiara reached out her palm to him again, he sniffed it slowly. When she held still and continued the praise him softly, he licked her hands gently.

Kiara chuckled again and reached up to pet the horse in between his ears. Aslan let her easily and he even let her rub his nose softly.

Kikkuri glanced over a moment later and nearly chocked. That weird woman was petting Aslan?! And Aslan wasn't angry or annoyed at all?!

He shook his head and continued with his work trying to ignore what he had seen. Aslan had a bad temper most times and he was usually very reserved around anyone new or anyone at all if Queen Yuri didn't approve of them.

A moment later he saw the woman getting a saddle and tack from a wall at the back. He wondered what she was up to, but he had to finish with the king's horse.

When he was done he went to see what she was doing and found her saddling a large brown stallion that had been broken in just recently. It had taken more than a month to tame him as well. Kikkuri watched her for a moment and found that she was saddling and preparing the horse perfectly.

Feeling a little bewildered Kikkuri walked over to Aslan's stall. The black stallion looked down at him and Kikkuri patted his neck lightly.

Aslan liked the woman, that had been obvious. And she had recognized that Aslan was a great horse and she had also noticed the brown stallion. Plus she was doing very well with the saddling.

_Hmph. _Kikkuri shook himself of the distraction and began to lead the horses he had prepared from the stable. The woman beat him to it though. She had saddled her horse quickly and she was already riding him out of the barn.

_And she rides well._ He noticed as he watched her go.

_Hmph, I guess she's not so bad after all._

* * *

"Aren't we heading out?" Kiara teased the king and his aides since they were still on the ground. She liked being so high up on the back of such a nice horse. Kikkuri brought more horses out and Kiara moved away to let the horse she was riding prance around the yard as they waited for the king to move out.

Finally after what seemed like forever to her, the king and his little group began to move towards the exit. Eagerly she turned the stallion to follow. He nickered and tossed his tail just as eager as she was to get out and move around.

Kiara noticed for the first time that there was someone who was riding near the king but not quite part of the group. He had brown skin and the wore a head-cloth and his chest was bare except for the fancy gold collar around his neck and shoulders.

She moved up closer to the Egyptian feeling curious. When he turned to look at her as well she jumped a little in surprise.

Then she noticed his eyes.

_Heterchromiac eyes...._ she blinked and looked away quickly suddenly remembering what had happened this morning, and she didn't want to it to happen again; whatever it was. Heterchromiac eyes...was that the right term for that? She remembered having a cat once with heterchromiac eyes, but whether it was the right term for a human she wasn't sure.

She was dismayed though to realized that she was blushing and avoiding looking at the man beside her. She could feel him looking at her though.

She fought to control herself. She inhaled and turned to look at the man.

And she was further dismayed to see that his eyes weren't the only thing that effected her.

_Oh _gosh_. _She thought to herself. _He's killing me._

He was so damn hot she didn't think it was funny. You'd think that having different color eyes might freak you out, but it just somehow made him more...exotic.

One of his eyes was gold, the other was brown and they were both intense and beautiful. His face too, was really cute. His features were all strong and proud and she couldn't help but think that if there were such a thing as Egyptian gods, then he had to be one of them. His chest was bare too giving her a excellent view of his fabulous six pack and all of the other very toned muscles he had. And his skin was really the perfect shade of brown. He looked perfect. She had never seen anyone look so prefect.

_Please god!_ She shrieked to herself as she fought against blushing or dying or faint off of the very tall horse. _Please kill me or him now! Or else make him not look so incredible so I can breath again!!!_

"Ah, you haven't been introduced yet."

"Hm?" Kiara answered looking at the king and biting her bottom lip. To her further annoyance her voice came out as a high pitched little squeak.

"This is General Ramses, our new ambassador from Egypt. And this is Kiara our new...visitor."

Kiara glanced at the general when the king had made the introduction, but she had noticed how the king had stumbled over introducing her.

_Do I truly bother these people so much? Or is he having a bad day? Or is it that he's just so bothered by the general? _She wasn't sure but she felt a little more annoyed with her decision to come along now.

"You're the liaison? And a general?" I asked the Egyptian trying not to blush or seem too weird in front of him. He looked back at me evenly with a expression that didn't show much emotion other an assessing type stare.

"Are you surprised? Perhaps you were expecting something else?"

Oh gosh, even his voice was heaven. It was so smooth and strong and—

_Stop that!_ I shouted inside my head as I slapped myself mentally. _Don't think with your girly hormones!_

"No I wasn't surprised really, its just that its usually pretty hard to become a general. At least it is where I come from. Generals are usually older." I babbled trying not to look...the way I was thinking.

As soon as we were outside the walls and on the streets I pushed the horse forward, and he gladly sped up to be near the lead of the group. I stayed out of the king and his guards' way, but I was anxious to get away from the extremely good looking man who was making my head spin in silly circles.

The gates were pulled open and I pulled to the front of the group and instantly I was able to forget about the super cute guy behind me. Just as I had yesterday, I was amazed at beauty and strangeness of this world around me. I had grown up either among tall metal skyscrapers or cute rustic wooden ranches. I had been to some of the biggest and most advanced cities in the world, London, Paris, Moscow, L.A., Tokyo. I had seen a lot of super cool super modern things for someone who was only seventeen—eighteen in about three months. But this place with all of its simple charm was just so different from what I knew, and so beautiful in the simplicity. There wasn't any cars constantly burning gas or any factories spitting out billows and billows of smoke. It was so...simple. That was the only way I could think of it.

I was from the red carpet. I had even managed to not yet wear something ugly or mismatched on any red carpet; I had a cell phone, a laptop, a prototype MP3 player. But still something inside me just wanted the 'simple life.' Maybe that's everything around me looked so nice. What I really wanted was to be able to relax and be with people I cared about and we could just have fun and laugh without worrying about photo-shoots or political intrigue.

Of course, here there wasn't really anyone I cared about. Well maybe Deiru since he was so cute and a sweetheart most of the time. But other than him? I guess I really just wanted to be back on the ranch.

* * *

Ramses watched the strange woman for a while. He wasn't impressed though. When she had looked at him for the first time since that morning he had seen the blush on her face and the expression in her rare blue eyes. It was the same as any other woman who saw him: she had been taken in by his looks and had fallen apart like a foolish young girl with a crush.

Not only that but he had thought that Mursili kept the woman around because he had some sort of fondness or use for her. But it became easily apparent that none of the king's little group even bothered to pay much attention to the woman. It seemed that they simply were stuck with her and didn't much appreciate the idea.

He didn't think he blamed them. As he watched her she gazed around them as if she was shocked and amazed at everything she saw. He had no idea why. There was nothing special about this town. It was big and busy, but it wasn't particularly different from any other town.

The woman stopped her horse and stood still in the road where she was. The king's party moved past her barely even glancing at her. Ramses noticed that even the guards who surrounded the king moved beyond the woman until only one of them was left beside her. That in itself truly showed that they regarded her very lowly since they barely bothered to have her protected.

Ramses was about to pass the woman on his own horse when he saw her bend over and lean down off of the animal's back. Surprised he stopped for a moment to see what she was up to.

When she sat up again in her saddle, she was holding onto a small child. Surprised Ramses watched as the woman—Kiara they called her?—smiled softly at small crying girl she held in her arms. The little girl wore a dirty and slightly torn dress and her face and arms were covered with dirt.

Kiara started forward with her horse again. She was rubbing the girl's back soothingly and he could see her lips moving in soft whispers.

Ramses started his horse again as well, but they had only covered a little more distance when the strange woman stopped again. She was looking off into the crowd of people who were watching as the king passed or going about their own business. She turned her horse slightly and moved until she was just on the edge of the large crowd.

That was risky, someone from the group could easily attack her since she had one guard only. Did she not know that? Ramses scoffed silently. What a stupid woman.

Kiara reached out and easily grabbed a random woman from the crowd. The woman turned around and her face was red and worried.

Ramses was again surprised when the strange woman, Kiara, took the crying child from her lap and handed her to the woman from the crowd. The child instantly stopped crying and clung to the woman who seemed to be her mother.

Kiara turned her horse away from the crowd and sped up until she was within the king's group again. Ramses followed and noticed a slight smile on her lips.

_How did she know? That the child was lost and who her mother was?_ He himself hadn't noticed it. But she apparently had seen both the lost child and the frantic mother and had reunited them without worrying about herself. Nor had she worried about how dirty the child was and its low station. He didn't think he knew of many noble women who would even think to act that way.

Kiara rejoined the king's group. No one said anything though both Ilvani and Kash turned to glance at her for a moment. She shrugged to both of them and smiled brightly.

For the first time Ramses noticed that the smile was fake and misleading. She was putting on an act? As what? Was she pretending to be a stupid court woman? Why would she do that? Was that how she wanted these people to see or think of her? He shook his head. That was ridiculous. That would be a stupid and useless thing to do. He must have been over-thinking her actions.

They came to the docks then and the pathways split. The king and his people went on one path and Ramses took a different one. He had been paying too much attention to the this very weird person though, and he noticed again when she stopped and stared off at the boats.

They were on type of hill. The path to the docks turned right and led downward until it came to the collection of boats all waiting, loading, or unloading on the water. To the left was the path that would continue to lead to where the mayor's house was. From the vantage point at the center of the paths you could look out and see a few large boats on the water as they were preparing to head out to see.

Curious about what she might be up to now Ramses looked at the woman only to see her staring out at the boats with a confused look on her face.

"Deiru?" she said aloud without thinking.

* * *

Kash noticed that she had stopped again too and he rode back to get her looking a little annoyed.

"Stop get sidetracked." he said sharply. When she didn't answer but continued to stare at the docks he tried to pull on the reigns of her horse.

Kiara tugged back on them angrily as she continued to stare down at the docks.

Was she wrong? She _had_ to be wrong. Deiru was at the palace. She had seen him sleeping there. She had left him with a maid who was sewing up some clothes for the young prince.

But she was almost sure that she had just seen the small boy down on the docks. She had seen the unmistakable mop of curly back hair and she had also recognized the small blue tunic he had been wearing that morning.

But why would he be at the docks? How _could_ he be at the docks?

Kash said something angrily right next to her and that general was standing over there staring at her like she was an idiot. She heard Ilvani's voice say something as well.

But she didn't stop searching. She continued to search everywhere along the port for anything close to what she had seen. Maybe she'd get in trouble later but...she felt something horrible. Her stomach was twisting, her skin felt cold and her brain wasn't working quite right.

She kept looking. Someone pulled on her arm.

But she saw it again.

A young boy with curly black hair and a bright blue tunic. He was being held roughly in the arms of a big sized man. The boy was over the man's shoulder and he was shouting angrily.

She inhaled deeply and felt her breath get caught in her throat when she recognized those big black eyes.

"Deiru!" she kicked the horse full on the flanks the way she had been taught to do when she needed to _go_.

Instantly the horse reared up and charge forward like a shot out of a gun in the direction she guided it.

Someone shouted her name from behind. A lot of people shouted from in front of her as she charged through trying not to step on people but desperately trying to get closer.

Her mind was working through its frenzy. She had seen him, he was here. He hadn't looked happy, but she had seen him. She would go get him and everything would be fine.

Right?

She heard a loud crash and a lot of screams. She felt the heat, she saw the blaze.

Someone had set fire to one of the large sea-bound ships.

_Deiru!_

_

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_

**Haha peoplez. A cliff-hanger for you!! You have to come back later to see what happens. :p**


	20. Saving Deiru

here's the end to the cliff-hanger! please read and review! enjoy.

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**20: Saving Deiru**

The docks became a center of mass confusion as the heat of the fire reached out towards the sky. The men and women who had been, on, or near the boats began to scream and run in the opposite direction.

The horse Kiara was riding was trying to obey her requests, but it simply could not fight its way through all of the people without crushing someone. She was making no progress towards her destination, and she was afraid for every second that was wasted.

_I'm not gonna get anywhere this way, and every minute that he's out there alone.... _she remembered the first day she had been here. Someone had attacked Deiru. They had gotten into the palace and tried to hurt him. She hadn't worried about it too much then assuming that everything had been taken care of, but now it seemed that he was in more danger than she had realized.

_I should have stayed behind. I should have been there to watch him. This would have never happened._

She looked frantically around. The horse was actually being forced to back up now because of all the people who were forcing their way out. She didn't see any other way to the ships, but that's where that man had been taking the poor boy.

_Stop panicking. Do what daddy taught you. _She ordered herself taking a big breath and looking around for anything, _anything_, useful at all.

The boats were farther away, but the one that her baby was one was the farthest.

The boats were in a sort of line. If she could get on one of them, she could probably jump to the one behind it.

She looked around trying to find a way to get on any of the ships. She could work from there.

There was some sort of pulley device next to a building. It swung out to one of the ships out on the water.

She jerked on the reigns quickly and the horse jumped to the side to obey her. While she could hear shouting and screaming all around her she lead the horse in a diagonal path towards a row of buildings on the left side of the docks. She would have liked to go straight and save herself some walking but she couldn't fight the crowd that much.

She got to the buildings, which seemed to be shops, somewhat easily. The hard part, once she got there, was getting onto the shops.

She was short, but the horse was tall. She stood carefully in the saddle while the horse obligingly held still. She was able to hook her wrists around the top of the smallest shop she could reach.

_Remember training. _I thought as I forced myself to pull my entire weight up onto the building. My arms screamed protest, and I felt my shoulders popping in pain. But I got onto the roof.

My body pleaded with me to sit down and take a deep breath, to rest my now weary muscles. I ignored the pain and ran. I was able to run out along the rooftops of all the houses with no difficulty. There was no one in the way and all the roofs were flat and level on top .

I got to the last house and the pulley system was right under me. There was a long beam with ropes hanging on it, and it reached out over the boats that came along the dock just under it. It was probably for loading big heavy crates and such.

I swung down from the roof my arms crying with soreness again. I got onto the beam and prayed that it wasn't rotten or something so that it would hold my weight. I knew that it must have held up heavier things than me but I was still a little uneasy as I balanced on it.

It was faster to walk to the end than to crawl, so I got the end of the beam before I lowered myself to my knees.

That's when I saw the next problem. The boat wasn't close enough to simply drop down to. I would have to jump and I would have to jump at a big angle.

_I can't jump that far. _I thought trying to think with logic instead of desperate fear.

The pulley had lots of ropes. I grabbed one with both hands and let myself fall off of the beam.

Gravity pulled me down. When the rope I was holding became taut with me on the end, I kicked at the building and sent myself in a spiral out over the water. I let go at the end of the spiral and felt myself going down-ward through the air.

I hit the deck of a ship landing heavily on my side before rolling over a few times.

I shouted loudly in pain at the contactm and despite my desire to get up and get moving, I was unable to move for a minute as my body reported the thousand different pains I had just caused.

Gritting my teeth I held on tight to my ribs as I forced myself to my feet again.

_Get going solider! _I heard his voice in my head shouting at me. Daddy was stronger than me, but he had taught me to be strong too.

I got to my feet and stumbled for a minute as my head swam. Everything hurt, I was sore, but I was still mobile.

I ran to the end of the ship. Thankfully the next ship was easy to get to. I just had to jump over the rails and I was across. As I went across the deck of the second ship I looked to see where the fire was.

It had spread quickly across one ship to the next and two boats were already in the water capsized. There were a lot of sailors in the water as well. They had been forced to jump ship or get caught in the blaze. There were still some sailors back at the docks as well trying to save their cargo from ships that weren't on fire yet.

I got to end of the second ship and had to stop. The third ship was on fire. Only a little, but it would spread quickly.

_Deiru was being brought onto that ship._ I thought horrified. I had to really jump this time to make it across the distance, and for a moment I was afraid I wouldn't make it. But I hit the railing of the third ship across my stomach and managed to hold on.

I was on board. But where was he?

I ran down towards where the cabins were. He had to be there since he wasn't here on the deck.

"Deiru!" I screamed loudly. I coughed then having inhaled some smoke. It was darker here on this ship with the sun's light being blocked out by the heavy smoke.

I heard a loud wailing and recognized the sad cry. That was him.

I ran towards the sound frantically. I came to the first door of the cabin and pulled hard on it. It was locked but I could hear him more clearly now. He was right _there_.

"Deiru baby get away from the door!" I screamed loudly through the wood. I heard him stop crying so hard as he heard my voice, but I didn't know if he would listen to me. Still, I had to get him out of there.

I had only done this once, but I was hoping that right now I was still strong enough or scared for the kid enough for it to work.

I lifted my knee up and kicked hard at the soft spot in the wooden door.

It broke open but only slightly, the wood splitting in half.

I tore at both halves trying to get them open.

When I was grabbed from behind I was completely shocked.

The big beefy arm around my neck jerked me away from the door and pulled me back. I struggled against the guy feeling self-preservation kicking in. I jerked my elbow backwards making a sharp hit on the guy I could feel holding me. He grunted and I ran my long fingernails hard on his arm around my neck. He growled loudly as I drew blood from him. He let me go and I kicked backward with one foot shoving the man away from me as hard as I could.

I didn't look back to see who it was, I had to get the baby out of here. The ship was on fire, we had to get going.

The door came open enough for me to put my head and one arm inside. I immediately saw Deiru. He had listened to me and was curled up away from the door.

I also saw that some hot embers were falling into the cabins here, and what was more I saw a lot of wine cargo.

"Come on baby, I gotcha now." I called loudly holding my hand out to the poor kid. He sat up and ran towards me still crying and wiping at his small tear-streaked face.

I grabbed him and pulled him out of the cabin. I felt someone's hand reach for my shoulder but I turned and started running towards the end of the ship.

There was wine in the hold with fire falling onto it. We had to get off the ship.

I was bruised and sore, Deiru felt very heavy in my arms and I was starting to inhale too much smoke.

I didn't run fast enough.

_KABOOM!_

The ship vibrated under my feet and then I was in the air. The blast came like a hard hot punch hitting me on my back. The ship broke apart under me and I flew out over the water with a small involuntary scream.

Despite my tight grip on him, the blast hit me too hard, and I lost Deiru.

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hehe. I'm still evil. another cliff-hanger for you. :p


	21. Tragedy

ok no more cliff-hangers about Deiru i promise this time. :) being evil is fun though, and i get more reviews that way. :p

ok i post this today because I just finished taking the SATs this morning. O.O oh finally. the horror is gone and over. lol. i can stop worrying about it now.

enjoy, please read & review like always. :)

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**21: Tragedy**

I hit the water on my back after spinning in the air for a minute. I don't think I've ever hit anything so hard in my life. The slap of water to my skin should have been cool but instead it felt like fire as it stung me with too much force.

I sunk for a few feet before I could manage to move my muscles again. I rose to the surface choking for air and pushing my hair out of my face. The pony tail had come out at some point and my wet hair was clinging to me and getting in my eyes.

"Deiru!" I screamed. There was a lot of screaming. Driftwood from the skip that had blown up floated around on the water with silent testimony of the horribleness of this day.

Among the driftwood I saw something that didn't belong. It was a small grass and twig horse that I remembered making weeks ago.

_Deiru! _I swam towards the horse and looked around at where it was. He had to be close by right? Since his toy was here.

_Babies can't swim. One year olds can't swim!_

I was a lifeguard back home, I knew that I was supposed to be calm and handle this in a professional way, but it was hard to remind myself of that when I was so worried and when everything was so wrong.

He would have sunk, he couldn't last for long without breathing.

I surfaced dived quickly and went underwater.

_There!_

He was sinking slowly, his tiny little limbs beating frantically at the smothering water around him. I swam fast through the water. By the time I grabbed hold of him, he wasn't moving anymore. Nearly chocking from lack of air myself, I surfaced from the water again and grabbed a random piece of driftwood to lean on.

The kid was heavy while he was limp and wet, and it would be easier to swim if I was able to disperse the weight. I used the piece of wood like a lifeguard tube and swam for the docks. Everything was so loud in my head. The screaming, the shouting, the sound of fire and water. The sound of my own heartbeat and the silence of his breathing.

I got to the dock and grabbed onto one of the platforms. Grunting with pain I manged to pull myself and the little boy out of the water.

I was so tired and sore, but he wasn't breathing.

"Deiru? Come on baby wake up." I laid him on his back and felt along his neck and arm for a pulse.

"_Deiru_!"

I didn't look up at the sound of the king's voice. He was the baby's father, and he would be worried but now was no time to chat.

There was a small pulse beat in the tiny limp form.

_But he's not breathing. He can't. He swallowed too much water._

I turned him over and braced one fist on his chest. I used my other hand to hit him really hard on the back.

The whole little posse of the king had arrived in time to see me beat the poor little prince hard. Naturally knowing nothing about the Red Cross Lifeguard techniques they shouted at me. Someone grabbed my shoulder roughly. I'm not sure since I wasn't paying much attention to anything but the kid, but I think I bit the hand on me.

I hit the prince again.

"You little—!"

"He's not breathing! I have to get the water out!" I shouted loudly at whoever was about to call me something insulting.

I hit the little boy again. He didn't move and I wondered if I should recheck his pulse.

I hit again.

The body convulsed and big black eyes opened as he started to vomit and choke up the water inside.

I patted his back as he choked for a minute then I sat back and panted for air myself.

I watched as the king reached out and grabbed onto his son. Deiru was sobbing loudly and King was holding him tightly.

Everyone was hanging around staring at me, at the king, at the mess of a dock.

I looked up and saw that Egyptian again.

He was looking at me with curiosity and a little bit of amazement. I stared back for a minute almost zoning out again, but that's when the screaming seemed to get louder in my ears.

I looked out at the docks.

Everything was one fire. The shops, the ships, the cargo, the driftwood floating in the water. There were people still screaming as they watch the horror. Some people were in the water, some were trapped on the burning ships or in the shops.

My vision flickered and I saw flashbacks of a different tragedy.

_People running, smoke rising high in the air. Screaming, shouting, blood. There was pointing and sirens, cars drove away quickly and people pushed each other down to try and run from the falling ruble._

I came back to the docks and felt my throat choking up.

Tragedy was everywhere and it was hard to stop.

But not impossible.

Feeling my veins burn with fire as I became determined I stood quickly, and took a minute to look over the chaos.

They needed a lot of help but this situation was salvageable.

I turned back to the king's little group and saw that they were standing around talking about the chaos without doing anything. They were just discussing what to do. Nothing else.

I angry I hit the head of the closest person to me. It happened to be Kash. He and the others looked at me shocked.

"You idiots! Get off your butts and get to work!" I shouted furious at them. I pulled on Kash's shirt until he stood up and then I pushed him towards the burning shops.

"Get some of those soldiers of yours and get the people out of those buildings!" I looked at Kikkuri next. "Go get a bunch of doctors! Some people are hurt! Get ropes to help the people in the water and some blankets, they'll need to get warm! Move people, MOVE!"

They jumped up and started running barking more orders and following the ones I had given. The nice thing about soldiers is that when they hear an order that sounds right from someone who sounds in control they jump up and snap to. Not always of course, but today they did.

I turned and saw that the Egyptian was still watching me. He was a general? I couldn't remember his name any more. I looked into his eyes but I didn't get lost this time.

I turned quickly and jumped off the platform in a dive and went into the water. I was a lifeguard, and there were people drowning out here.


	22. Being A Lifeguard

I am soooo sorry that I din't post last week!! I suddenly had things at home to do and all of my normal schoolwork and such so I didn't have time to write and post. Plus I hit a tiny writer's block which was _sooo_ helpful. -_- anyway I'm gonna make it up to peoples and here's something to start with! please read and review.

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**Chapter 22: Being A Lifeguard**

I dove deep trying to see underneath the murky and disheveled water. I found myself becoming more and more grateful for the driftwood floating around since it made my job easier. The sailors and dock hands who had fallen into the water were mostly clinging to the floating wood. A few of them could even swim by themselves.

Still I moved quickly trying to come up for air as little as possible. I found two people falling to the bottom unable to hold themselves above the water. Both of those men were luckily not unconscious so I merely had to help them grab onto to something before I dove down to search some more.

I used every once of endurance I had learned while training with my father and while training to become a lifeguard. By the end of seven weeks I had easily been able to swim 300 yards without stopping if I kept my pace easy. But that had been a year ago and since then I had gotten even better.

I didn't see anyone underwater any more, so I surfaced to see who needed my help above.

"Tezel!" I shouted recognizing the man in the water closest to me as the Egyptian I had sort of made friends with two nights ago.

He turned to me, and I saw that he was holding another man who was unconscious, and they were leaning on a large board.

"Kiara." he answered recognizing me as well as the crazy girl from before. I swam towards him and checked on the man he was holding.

"Do you know what happened here?" I asked after I saw that the unconscious man was breathing just fine.

"No. We were loading the boats there and suddenly everything was on fire." Tezel answered looking at the boat that was half hidden underwater.

_Someone did this on purpose. To attack Deiru? As a distraction for that?_ I narrowed my eyes. This was something big but I wasn't sure what yet.

"Get yourself and this guy over to the platforms. Try and get warm and don't push him around too much!" I ordered the man then I ducked underwater to check again for anyone who was falling underneath.

There was no one that I could see, so I again went to check on the men who were bobbing up and down on pieces of driftwood.

As I moved slowly from person to person, helping them to swim along or pushing the ones who had fallen asleep, I saw that there were a lot more soldiers moving on the docks now. They seemed to be getting things into better control. Ropes were being thrown to the people in the water and I saw water being thrown onto the burning shops.

I pulled another big man up to the platform and helped to haul him onto the sturdy wood. I made sure to check his vital signs before turning and going back into the water.

"Wait a minute." someone said softly. I turned to see that Egyptian general holding onto my arm.

I felt exhausted and sore and I really wanted to curl up and breath hard through for a few minutes. He could probably see that I was tired and didn't want me to push myself since I was just a little girl. But I had seen at least two more people in the water unable to get themselves to shore.

Angrily and snarling at the man, I pulled my arm roughly from his grasp not even caring that he was so handsome and that his eyes were the most incredible eyes I had ever seen.

"Let me do my job!" I shouted at him before I dove back underwater. The dive was sloppy and I felt a little lightheaded as I moved out again to get at least the fifteenth guy.

I managed to pull another man to the platform so someone could pull him up before I really felt sick.

I placed my fingers at the side of the man's neck and watched to see if his chest move up and down with his breathing while my stomach twisted. I almost felt like I wasn't breathing myself.

_Dammit! _I thought when I saw that this man was not breathing. I got onto the wood next to him and tilted his head back. Without bothering to care what it would look like I was doing, I moved forward and placed my mouth over the unconscious man's. I blew in two big breaths before sitting up and checking to see if he was breathing himself. The air had gone into his lungs but he wasn't breathing.

_Dammit._ I thought again but this time my thoughts were sluggish. I placed my fist over his chest and gave hard compressions in a fast pace. His pulse had stopped, he wasn't breathing. I couldn't just let him go after I had pulled him across all that damn water.

I gave him CPR again and tried not to listen to the sounds of the dock around me. There wasn't so much screaming now because all of the civilians had gotten out of there, but a lot of them were up on that hill watching as their boats or their shops, their _livelihoods_ were destroyed.

There was a lot of crying and cursing going on.

_Breathe. Breathe. _I begged the man giving more compressions.

I had never lost someone before. I had been lifeguard at a pool for one year and I had made a few rescues, even a pretty bad one once, but I hadn't lost any one before.

_Breathe._ I gave more CPR.

Someone put their hand on my shoulder.

"Enough. He's gone." I heard the king say softly.

I growled softly. _Dammit!_

I hit the man's chest really hard going against what I had been taught.

"DAMMIT!" I screamed angrily. "You _bastard_! Wake up!"

I jumped back suddenly when the man's body jerked and he took in a shaky breath. Then he rolled his head to the side and groaned.

_Alive?_ I thought shaking. Relief flooded through me.

"But how...?" King asked shocked behind me. The man had been dead. How was he alive now?

I moved slowly and turned back to the water.

"Wait!"

But I had already let myself fall back in.

I stayed underwater without moving for a moment. For a moment, I let the coolness of the water settle around me as I fought down the bile in the back of my throat. I felt awful. I felt beyond that.

I swam forward anyway.

I only saw one man left out here, and he was awake still. That was the only thing that kept me moving anymore. There was only one person left to save, and he could help me push himself to shore.

"It's okay. It's okay." I said softly coming up the man who was clutching onto part of a ship that wasn't underwater.

He looked at me shocked, and I smiled lightly. I got a big piece of board from the water and I helped the tired man onto it.

"Come on, kick with your legs. Slowly, we don't need to race." I chanted soothingly as we made out way through the wreckage toward the destroyed docks.

When we got there two men got down to help pull the man out of the water. Someone else offered me help too, but I had already put started to pull myself out, and stopping to accept someone's hand seemed like too much work right now.

I stood stiffly and groggily. I swayed a little on my feet and my eyelids felt heavy with pressure. I felt completely numb for which I was grateful. If I hadn't been numb probably every inch of me would have been on fire with pain.

I shook my head slowly and pushed the hair out of my face. It caught on the light wind in the air and for the first time in a while I saw the sun light filtering down on me. The smoke seemed to have lessened a little and the world had become brighter again.

I looked up then and saw that everyone in the whole area was staring at me.

I probably looked horrible. All wet and messed up with the wind blowing on my drenched hair and I was wearing blue jeans and a t-shirt too.

_Good thing too. If I had been wear one of those dresses it woulda been hard to swim._ I thought to myself slowly. I had meant to be annoyed at the idea of looking like a tramp but I couldn't seem to find the energy to even think angrily. I should sit down somewhere, but I thought that if I sat down now I wouldn't be able to get up again. And honestly? I didn't want to have to be carried out of here.

Someone clapped.

I looked up surprised when the whole crowd began cheering and clapping. They were happy? About what? It had all burned.

I didn't have the ability left to try and figure it out. I did have the leftover ability to blush though it seemed.

I heard shouts about a goddess and blushed even deeper.

_Me? They're cheering for me?_

Someone, Kash, handed me a blue cloak that I recognized as my own. I pulled it around my shoulders with a sigh. I was beginning to feel cold, and I was wet, and my clothes were clingy.

Someone was talking. I couldn't really understand the words. But when Kash lightly put a hand on my shoulder I followed him and the others numbly. We came to the horses again, and I very gratefully got onto mine. I felt very happy with the idea of having something supporting my weight, and I sat heavily in the saddle.

_Breathe slowly._ I chanted slowly over and over. I rested quietly on the horse and tried to regain my normal breathing and heart rate. It took me the entire trip back to the palace, but by the time I had to get off the horse again, I was able to look around and think with a almost normal amount of thought process.

I noticed as I peeked around that more guards had shown up from somewhere and everyone was all tense and tight. Naturally.

When we got back to the palace, I sighed deeply. All I really wanted was to go to bed, curl up, and maybe if I was lucky? I wouldn't die from lack of energy to keep my heart pumping.

Yes, I am melodramatic, no I will never stop being so, and yes it was a trait I had before I became a super pop star.

_Stop talking to yourself, you don't have the time for that now._ I ordered softly, but I wasn't really in the mood to play my mind games.

"_**Kail**_!"

Irritated, although I couldn't say why, I turned my horse away from the crowd inside the palace gates. I heard Yuri rushing toward King and their little group all talking behind me, but I moved my horse off towards the stables. I would just get out of their way and get some rest for myself.

_They won't even miss me will they?_ I asked myself acidly.

Even the little good angel on my shoulder shook her head sadly in response.

_Oh well, as soon as there's water in that well again, I am so outta here._


	23. After the Fact

here's another chapter to make up for what i'm behind in peoples. thanks for reviewing if you do and if you don't please start!! :)

* * *

**After The Fact:**

Ramses watched Kiara as she moved away from Mursili and his group of followers. He thought she looked annoyed, and he wondered why. She had preformed a rather amazing feat today, and any one else he knew would stand up and take credit for that.

_Not Yuri._ His mind corrected him as he saw the young black haired woman hugging the Hittie king tightly. Feeling irritated himself, Ramses turned away as well heading his own horse back towards the stables.

He had to follow behind the strange new woman as he went, and he thought over everything he had seen that day.

She had suddenly kicked the horse, and they had gone flying down the hill. For a moment he had been impressed by her ability to ride the animal so well, but that was when the fire had started.

From what he had found out afterwards, the fire had been started by someone setting light to large barrels of pitch that was used to build and repair the ships. It had spread quickly after that, lead on by the hot dry sun and the strong wind.

The sailors, merchants, commoners, and guards who had been at the docks had all become frantic. The merchants and either fled with the crowds or tried to save their wares, the sailors had attempted the put out the fire and save their ships. The commoners had run from the area which was fast becoming like a torch.

Ramses had kicked his own horse down towards the burning dock in order to try and help. There were a lot of people down there, and not all were from this one nation, and he was a solider himself. He had been trying to get to the ships where many sailors were still struggling when he had seen the girl running on _top_ of the shops.

As he had watched incredulously, he had seen her swing down on a large pulley and swing herself out onto a boat deck. Her fall had to have been quite painful, but she had gotten up and run off disappearing.

He had made it to the ships to help some men as they tried to stop a fire from burning down one of the shops. One of the ships anchored out in the water had exploded then. The flames of fire had become more intense and wood and hot air had blown in all directions. That was when Ramses had noticed that Mursili was also wandering around surrounded by his men as he shouted orders through the chaos.

The Hittie king had stopped shouting out directions when more than one person had pointed to one of the platforms where a very wet brown haired girl was climbing up out of the water. In her arms she held a small black haired child who didn't seem to be moving.

"Deiru?!"

The king had moved forward toward the platform where the strange woman in leggings was now holding the little boy's chest against her fist. In a bold move she slapped the crown prince hard across his back.

Ramses had known that that was not a wise move, and he was proven right when Kash reached out to pull on the woman roughly. To his further surprise, and slight amusement now, the woman had bitten the Hittie soldier and continued to beat on the back of the small child.

"He's not breathing! I have to get the water out!" Ramses heard the woman shout. He was startled to hear the ferocity in her voice instead of the soft sweetness she had portrayed that morning.

Suddenly then, the small prince was choking and water was coming out from his small body. The boy cried, and Mursili grabbed his son and held onto him tightly.

Ramses had watched as the woman backed away from the now rejoicing group and stood stiffly. She had looked at him for a moment before turning to gaze over the surrounding area. He had seen her tremble slightly before turning back to the king and his group.

Without any warning the woman had slapped Kash hard on his head and had begun shouting loudly.

"You idiots! Get off your butts and get to work!" she had sounded so fierce and angry. And when she had continued the shout out orders like a battle general the surrounding soldiers and men had jumped up to obey her commands.

As Ramses thought about it now he decided that if those Hittie soldiers hadn't already been so used the receiving orders from a woman in the form of Ishtar, then they most likely would not have heeded this new strange woman.

_But she was very commanding._ He remembered as he watched the woman stretch her back and then pat the horse she was riding on its neck.

He had seen that same small sized woman jump back into the water at least a dozen times and every time she had pulled or pushed a man out of the water and onto the safety of the docks. She had to have tremendous strength and stamina to have accomplished everything he had seen her do that day. And here she was getting off of her horse without anyone to help her and without the slightest sign of being as exhausted as she must be.

_Perhaps Mursili is wrong._ Ramses thought as he handed the reigns of the horse to a waiting servant. He dismounted and wandered back to the courtyard where the king was still gathered with his people. He saw that the woman was still standing by the brown horse rubbing its neck slowly.

_Perhaps he missed this one. Perhaps there is something interesting about her._ Ramses decided slowly as he wandered to stand near where Mursili was.

* * *

Kiara was immensely proud of herself for managing to get off of her horse without toppling to the ground.

"Good horse. Good boy." she repeated softly over and over as she rubbed the horse's neck. He had been very good today and she was glad she had picked him for his help. She remembered belatedly that she didn't know his name. She would have to ask someone.

_For now though I really want a hot bath and new clothes. No I don't even want that. I want to go to sleep for about two days and _then_ I want a bath and new clothes. A terry-cloth bathrobe probably. Something nice and soft. And a hamburger. No no, a Big Mac. A really hot Big Mac._

I started to lead the horse to the stables. He needed a good cleaning and some food for a treat.

"Kiara."

_I didn't hear you. I _don't_ hear you. _I thought turned toward King while keeping my face expressionless and clear. Ok, maybe I was looking at him a little coldly, but hey, I wasn't exactly happy right now.

King and his little group were standing there waiting for me to come over so they could talk to me.

What am I a doggie? Come here girl, I wanna put a collar around your neck.

Feeling all of my irritation rising to the edge I took a step towards the stables slowly.

"Can we talked later? I have to take care of the horse." I said keeping my voice flat. Maybe a little cold. Again. Bad me.

The king was visibly surprised at my attitude. "The servants can take care of that." he said waving his hand as if waving the problem away. He was still holding Deiru who was asleep on his shoulder.

Deciding it would be better to not cause a scene right now, I handed the reigns to a waiting servant and slowly walked over to the king without grumbling out loud and with a still clear—slightly cold—face.

I stood there stiffly without saying anything. I held my back straight and tense and clenched my teeth. When had anyone here ever said anything nice to me? I was expecting to get yelled at for running off and trying to act in charge before.

King stood there and stared down at me. His face was serious, but he also looked a little sad.

"Thank you."

"Eh?" surprised I blinked and took a tiny step back to settle myself again.

"Thank you Kiara for saving our son. This is the second time you have protected him, and we are very grateful." King took Yuri's hand when he said this. I saw that the queen's eyes were red and puffy. She had been crying a lot. She had probably seen the smoke and heard reports of the burning docks. She had probably found out that Deiru was missing too.

Both her husband and her son had been gone when something bad was happening. Of course she had been crying.

_They're thanking me? Like, acknowledgment that I'm here and not evil, type thanking me?_

"Um, it was...nothing." I mumbled looking down at the ground. I had about a hundred different bruises forming that said the opposite, but I didn't want to mention all that.

Why did I not feel happy? Why was I feeling even worse now? They were thanking me. They were being nice now and attempting to accept me a little. Why did I feel even more depressed and lonely?

"We really are very glad that you were here. You've done your job so well and taken care of Deiru so much. We just wanted to tell you that we appreciated it." Yuri said with a soft smile.

I nodded my head but kept looking at the ground. My hair covered my face and I probably seemed embarrassed.

To hell I was.

It was my job huh? Protecting Deiru, watching him, saving him, it was my job to do that. Like a soldier, like one of the Secret Service guys who guarded the President. It was my job to stand there and take the shot, to save my boss at all costs to myself. And it didn't matter who I was or how hard I worked, the only time anyone noticed that I worked at all, was when I did take the shot.

"We hope that you agree to stay and keep doing so wonderful a job." Ilvani said with his usual dry tone.

I flinched, but only barely.

I nodded again still keeping my face covered. "It was nothing really." I murmured softly before turning and running away quickly.

* * *

"Hey...." Yuri stopped when she saw that the American was already around the corner and out of sight. "Do you think she's okay?"

"She's probably just tired and embarrassed. We have other things to discuss now." Ilvani said brushing off his queen's worries. Yuri nodded, and she with Kail walked into the palace both talking about the damages of the dock and the needed repairs.

Ramses crossed his arms over his chest and watched as Mursili's people walked into the palace. He had seen that woman's reaction. He had seen how tightly she was standing, and he had seen her flinch at Ilvani's words.

Curious he walked to the corner of the palace and peered around the side looking for the strange woman.

She was there across the yard stomping on the grass. He saw her livid face and he was not sure if head ever seen a woman look so angry before. He could not hear her words, but he saw her lips moving and figured she was probably cursing loudly in whatever language she knew.

"She seems quite pleased." Ilvani remarked drily from Ramses's side. The Egyptian turned. He hadn't noticed that the adviser had followed him, but he wasn't surprised.

"You spoke to irritate her." Ramses accused glancing at the stone faced man before looking back to the furious woman across the yard. She made slashing movements at the air and then fell back onto the ground and laid there staring angrily at the sky while her lips continued to move with their unheard words.

"I merely stated something, how she took it was her own fault." Ilvani replied before wandering off.

"You were testing her for something." Ramses calmly accused again watching the other man walk away.

Ilvani stopped and looked back at him. "The woman has been here for nearly three weeks, and what I see now is what I have seen the entire length of her stay; She is unstable. A few moments ago she was saving the lives of many including the crown prince, and now she is undoubtedly over there cursing our king's very name for what ever strange reason she has. She is too fickle and unpredictable, and I fail to see how such a woman can be trustworthy." Ilvani said quite honestly.

Ramses looked at him evenly for a moment before turning away and heading back to the palace himself. Ilvani was a shrewd man. What he said was very likely to be true, but it might not have been the only truth.

Fickle? Yes, that seemed very likely when he thought about the woman he had seen. But he was almost certain now that much of what she had said and done before was an act. She had strength and some measure of intelligence. Ramses wondered what she would turn out to be, this strange foreign woman. Would she be the shallow court woman she had appeared as that morning? Was she perhaps a talented and very capable fighter and leader as she had been that afternoon?

_Or was she as Ilvani suggested, a possible snake in the grass who would bide her time and wait to do as she pleased?_

He wasn't sure yet. He had seen too many sides of her and nothing to show which was the true one.

Sighing he put the question off and tried to settle down. With this new disaster fresh in their minds, the Hittie royalty might wish to stay in this town for a few days to overlook the repairs. If they did then he would have to stay here too.

He made it back to his room and lay down on the couch. He slipped his head-dress off and ran his hand through his short sandy hair.

The next few days promised to be long ones whatever they held.

* * *

ok end of this chapter. the next one is gonna feature Kiara thinking about what happened and her rection to the King and there will be a surprise!!!! :P


	24. Memories and Surprises

here's chapter 24 y'all, please review, thanks!!!! towrds the end of the chapter I used a song by Superchick,

**I DO NOT OWN THE SONG AT THE END!!! IT BELONGS TO SUPERCHICK WHO SANG IT!!**

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**24: Memories and Surprises**

I laid in the grass after a rather violent freak out. I stared at the sky with my arms flung out at my sides.

Why was I so mad? They had tried to be nice. They were trying to be nice. Why was I taking it the wrong way? What was wrong with me?

I sat up and turned onto my side. I plucked a piece of grass from the ground and ran my fingers over it. I leaned my elbow on the ground and placed my head in my hands as I thought slowly.

I was just tired. And sore. And generally not in a good mood. The fact that it took a near death for them to notice me had only made me more put out.

I closed my eyes and leaned back onto the grass again.

I could still smell the smoke, and feel the fire. I could hear the screaming and the terror.

Memories of more than the incident today crashed through my mind. Some of them flashed by quickly leaving just a heavy tinge of chaos, others slowed down and drowned out everything else in my world until all I could see was the memory. None of them were good memories to have, but they were all I could see right now.

My eyes felt blurry, and I blinked quickly. I would not cry. Crying was useless, and it solved nothing. Why the hell should I cry?

I sat up abruptly. I needed to go rest, clear my head. I'm sure I'd be more happy and friendly with everyone later. I just needed to get my mind off of it's unpleasant track.

I stood quickly no longer feeling angry, just drained in every way.

I made my way into the palace and stood there for a second trying to decide what to do.

I needed a bath, but I also needed some clean clothes. Unless I was about to walk around in my denim mini skirt I was out of clothes to wear. I wasn't even gonna consider the softball shorts I had.

If I needed new clothes I had to go see one of the sisters. Hadi would be best since Rui and Shalla still kinda hated me.

_I might as well go check on Deiru too. I did hit him kinda hard...and I wanna know what the hell happened._

I trudged off towards the nursery. My hair was drying all frizzy and it kept floating down in front of my face. I blew it away and realized that I had lost the cloak somewhere. Probably back in the garden when I was hitting the air for no reason.

I sighed annoyed with myself. I wasn't ever going to grow up was I? And now I had to walk around in a clingy wet t-shirt and stiff blue jeans.

I entered the nursery and saw a maid there watching over Deiru as he slept soundly in his little bed.

There are also two guards at each end of the hall and one outside this door. They aren't taking anymore chances. Good. "Where did Hadi go?" I asked the woman.

She looked up at me and frowned slightly taking in my strange appearance. To my annoyance she nodded her head as if in a small bow to me. Why the heck should she do that?

"Hadi is with Ilvani and they are speaking with the king in the courtroom." the woman answered me with another nod of her head. Her tone was full of respect and submission as if I was some sort of high class lady, and she were my servant.

_They aren't about to treat me like some weirdo goddess again are they?_ I wondered bristling a little and feeling uncomfortable.

"Then are Rui and Shalla with the queen?"

"Her Majesty is resting in her rooms and the twins were sent into town with Kash."

"Queen is resting?" that surprised me. I had figured that she would be with King.

"Her Majesty has not been feeling well this day; after His Highness returned she retired to her room for rest."

My scalp prickled in alarm and I swore to myself softly. "How long has she been feeling bad?" I asked trying not to seem to anxious.

"She is not ill, merely tired. And she has been that way since last night I believe."

_Ah damn. _I thought getting another one of those 'woman's intuitions' feelings. "Ok thanks." I answered the maid. I left the room and slowly wandered back to my own room. I had a feeling that certain people were about to get even busier and more stressed, so I would just wander away and not bother anyone for now.

I closed the door of my small room behind me and walked over to the bed. Picking up my bag I rifled through the contents until I came up with a new t-shirt and the softball shorts. Since I planned to be sleeping for the next three days I didn't think it mattered if I dressed like I would at home. I changed quickly, eager to get into bed. I laid out the now mostly dry clothes on top of the back of a chair. I very, very, happily climbed into bed and pulled all of the blankets up around me. I managed the braid my wet hair so that it was out of my way, then I practically collapsed onto my pillow. It only took me three minutes to fall more asleep than I've ever been in my life.

* * *

Else where in the palace that night, the combined stress of travel and worrying for her family's sake that morning had made Yuri very tired and sore. She couldn't seem to sleep however, so she walked slowly back and forth around her room. Kail was downstairs finishing up some work; soon he would come up here and wonder why she wasn't resting like she should be.

Yuri inhaled sharply as a intense harsh pain suddenly crawled through her. Bending over gasping she held onto her very large stomach as she tried to regain her breath.

"H-Hadi!" she called loudly.

The pain repeated itself, and Yuri sat down on the couch still gasping and holding onto her round belly as she tried not to feel the pain too much.

"Hadi!" she shouted again even louder.

The door opened quickly, and Hadi rushed in with her long blond hair streaming out from her pony-tail as she rushed to her mistress's side.

It did not take very long after that for both women to understand what was happening. Hadi ran to send her sisters for a mid-wife, and to tell the king of the news.

* * *

Hours later when the moon was still high in the sky, a loud shrill scream was sounded from the queen's chambers as a new life was brought forth into the waiting world.

Yuri sank gratefully back into the bed as she heard the loud cries of her child. She had just been in labor for hours and she was exhausted now. Hadi smiled brightly and gently wiped the sweat from Yuri's brow with a wet cloth. "You did wonderfully Queen Yuri." Hadi praised.

The mid-wife gathered the child in her arms and cleaned it thoroughly. Once she was done she bundled it up in warm dry blankets.

Kail opened the door slowly and stepped inside. He walked directly to his wife's side and gently kissed her brow smiling down at her. Yuri managed to smile back at him too.

The mid-wife handed to new-born baby to it's father with a large grin. "It's a baby girl." she announced pleased. The mid-wife loved her job, and she loved to see the looks on the parents' faces as the looked at their new child for the first time.

Kail could not stop from smiling brightly as he looked down at the baby girl in his arms. She was beautiful. Her tiny little face was still red and her eyes were closed. There was a tiny bit of light colored fuzz on her head that was her hair. The baby waved her tiny little arms and fists in the air as she made small whimpering sounds.

Kail knelt down by the bed and placed the baby in her mother's arms.

Yuri cried softly as she smiled down at her little girl. She looked up at Kail for a moment to see the same joy in his eyes before she turned back to stare at her beautiful child again.

The mid-wife packed up her things and left along with Hadi and the twins. Once they were out the door Kash, Ilvani, Kikkuri, and all of the others quickly jumped forward to hear the good news. Once they heard about the healthy princess who had been born they all smiled and cheered happily. Even Ilvani grinned slightly.

Back in the queen's room Kail carefully edged himself onto the bed to sit beside his wife and support her as she held their child. The baby was nursing hungrily, and Kail and Yuri could not stop their smiling.

"She's so beautiful." Yuri said in a whisper. Kail agreed completely. He reached down slowly and wiped the tears from his beloved wife's face, then he lifted up her chin and kissed her gently on the lips.

After a moment they broke the sweet kiss and looked back down at the child who was now sleeping. Tiny little snores could be heard from the small baby, and Kail knew that his wife was very tired as well.

"Sleep love, you have done very well tonight." he said gently lowering his wife further into the pillows. Yuri nodded and yawned. She leaned onto her husband's wide strong chest and closed her eyes. Kail continued to smile for a long time before he finally fell asleep holding onto his wife and new daughter.

* * *

Back in her room Kiara turned over in her sleep as a strange dream filtered through her thoughts. She saw two small children playing in a big garden. One was a tiny baby and the other was perhaps a year old. They both had curly back hair. She seemed to be sitting on the grass watching them with a smile. Everything was sweet and happy. But then she looked away and saw only dark dead trees and grass. When she looked back at the children she saw that they were gone and the entire garden was shrouded in darkness.

She looked down at her hands and felt a small tear escape from her eyes. Somewhere in the back-round she could hear the faint echos of some music...

_she never slows down..._

_she doesn't know why,_

_but she knows that when she's..._

_all alone..._

_feels like it's all... coming down,_

_she won't turn around..._

_the shadows are long,_

_and she fears if she cries..._

_that first tear,_

_the tears will not stop..._

_raining down..._

_she won't make a sound..._

_alone in this fight with herself,_

_and the fears...whispering..._

_if she stands...she'll fall down..._

_she wants be found..._

_the only way out is through everything,_

_she's...running from,_

_she wants to give up...._

_and lie down...._

_So stand in the rain,_

_Stand your ground,_

_Stand up when it's all crashing down,_

_Stand through the pain,_

_You won't drown,_

_And one day what's lost can be found,_

_You stand in the rain._

Kiara tossed in her sleep again fighting off the tingling feeling of fear and dread. Old hurts and new worries were trying to work their way into her sleep, but for now, she was determined to escape them. Tomorrow maybe, she would face what she had to.


	25. Preparing for a Celebration

yay! 56 reviews!! thank you peoples! if I didn't get those reviews I probably wouldn't have written all this so thanks for reviewing! And Dana if you don't review every chapter or if you don't review right away it's okay, a while agomy computer didn't work either so I get how annoying that is.

**A/N:** Korinna is an old Greek name from the word ''Kore'' which means 'maiden' so basically Korinna means 'maiden'. Yeah I know, crappy name for a Princess but she wasn't named in the manga so I had to pick a name and I figured Greek was closest to Hittite. I could be wrong. Eh.

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**25: Preparing for a Celebration**

Someone knocked on the door the next morning. After a moment of silence they knocked louder.

_Oh bloody...it's way too freakin early for anyone to be up!_ Kiara groaned loudly and held the pillow harder over her face._ I don't want to be up for another six months. Go away. Away away, begone._

So of course they opened the door and came in.

Hadi looked at the bed and saw the bundled shape of a small person hiding under nearly five blankets.

_Is she so cold? _Hadi wondered feeling a little bad for the woman who was probably not used to the harsh cold of Hittie winters. The snow had not come yet, but there was a definite cold chill in the air.

Hadi walked over to the bed and gently shook the woman's shoulders. Hadi had brought her another dress to wear, and wanted see if she was alright. She had heard how hard this strange woman had worked yesterday to save so many lives, and she was impressed. The only other woman she had seen with such strength and caring was Queen Yuri.

"Kiara?" Hadi asked as she shook the sleeping woman's shoulders again.

There was a faint mutter in reply. Hadi shook harder.

"You must get up now. I have brought you new clothes, and we have a lot of work to do today. Deiru will be needing you very soon."

Hadi stepped back as Kiara growling sat up and started untangling herself from all of the blankets. She had curled up so tight that she resembled a caterpillar in its cocoon. When Kiara stood released from her blankets, she shivered violently.

_And no wonder she is so cold! She wears almost nothing! _Hadi thought with a slight blush as she saw the small shorts and thin t-shirt that Kiara was wearing.

Kiara looked up and noticed Hadi's scandalized look. Still hazy with sleep Kiara blinked wondering what was wrong. Then she shivered again and felt goosebumps along her arms and legs. Looking down she remembered that she was wearing the softball shorts which only covered a little less than half of her thighs.

_Oops. _She thought with a yawn. "Everyone wears these kind of clothes when they exercise where I come from." Kiara said yawning again.

Hadi didn't know what to say to that. It seemed rather distasteful to reveal so much to the world, but she said nothing. In Egypt the women wore dresses that were thin enough to see through and sometimes without any covering across their chests.

"How a person dresses in their own country is their business." Hadi said with a small shake of her head. She handed the shorter woman the plain white dress she was holding. Kiara took it and held it up with a small sigh.

"This one looks like it will fit me, but wearing so much white after Labor day is rather annoying. I wish you had some pink around here." Kiara mumbled trying to regain full consciousness. Hadi shook her head knowing that it was just random rambling. Kiara had often rambled during her three weeks here.

"Why is everyone so busy today?" Kiara asked as she pulled her hair our of its braid.

Hadi beamed happily. "Queen Yuri had her child last night. We have a strong new princess in Hittie."

Kiara nodded only half listening. She had expected that. There was a small strange depressing feeling in the back of her mind at the thought of the two babies, but she had already forgotten her dream, so she had no idea why she felt unhappy. She figured it was because she was still sleepy.

"And why..." she paused to yawn heavily. She hated waking up. She didn't mind being awake, but waking up was damn annoying. "Why does that make everyone so busy?"

"His Majesty has ordered a celebration to honor the birth of the new princess as well as to thank the gods for averting the tragedy of yesterday."

Kiara flinched blinking. She sat on her bed so that she could peel of her t-shirt.

Hadi came up behind her. She gently placed her hand on Kiara's shoulder. "There was a census taken yesterday; no one died because of the destruction. We know what you did Kiara, and we really are grateful."

Kiara turned to look at the blond woman. She bit her lip unsure what to say. In truth she had done what was basically instinct to her by now. Plus she really didn't want to think about yesterday, it reminded her too much of more painful and stressful days.

She smiled weakly at Hadi feeling a little embarrassed and depressed suddenly. Hadi smiled back and turned away.

"His Highness wishes to see you once you are ready. He will be in the west sitting room."

"Um...I...."

She cut me off with a smile. "Kash will be waiting to take you there." she opened the door and left. I smiled as well. I knew my way around the palace very well, but I didn't know what the rooms were called. She said west sitting room, but I probably wouldn't have been able to tell the difference between a sitting room and a bedroom. I mean they both had big couches and tables and sometimes the beds around here looked more like couches than anything else.

I quickly put on the new dress feeling glad that this one wasn't tight at all. I brushed my hair out and pulled it into a high pony-tail, so that it was out of my way. Slipping into my spare sandals, I stood and left the room.

As Hadi had said, Kash was waiting outside my room. He smiled and greeted me, and then we went on our way. He brought me to see the king and we stepped inside the room.

Ilvani was there, naturally, and Kikkuri as well. King was standing over a small table on which he had piled some scrolls. He looked over them carefully while speaking with Ilvani who made some notes on his own scroll.

When he was done with the task at hand, King looked up at me.

"Did you sleep well?" he asked with concern.

I knew he was probably thinking about how tired I had made myself yesterday. I blushed softly and smiled brightly. "I slept real well. But I imagine you didn't get much rest yourself. Congratulations on your new kid." I grinned at him. "What's her name?"

"Thank you, and she is Korinna." King answered with a smile.

"How pretty. Hadi said it was a busy day, is there anything I can help with?"

"If you are not required to help with Deiru then you may do anything you please as long as you remain out of the kitchens." Ilvani said dryly. I flushed slightly and resisted the urge to stick my tongue out at him.

"Kiara I wanted to—"

"Since everything is so busy today I'll get to work okay? I don't like to be too lazy." I smiled brightly and skipped out of the room quickly. I nearly ran to the nursery so I could just be with Deiru and try to relax.

Back in the room Kail sighed turned back to his work.

"Your Highness? Were you not going to reward her for her actions yesterday?" Ilvani asked.

"I was, but she seems to be avoiding that. I'll wait until she's ready to be more open." Kail answered with a slight shake of his head.

Ilvani nodded slightly, and they went back to work. They needed to repair and rebuild, and they also needed to try and find whoever had caused all of this trouble.

* * *

For the rest of the day the servants bustled around quickly to prepare the feast that night. The mayor and other important figures who were close enough to attend were invited. Prince Juda, who was Mayor of Karukemishu was invited, and he would be arriving soon.

Kiara kept herself busy that day too. She played with Deiru a lot and was one of the people who made sure he was never alone. She had gotten to see the new princess as well, and she had spent five minutes cooing to the adorable little baby before she had gone back to work. She tried to avoid the stares of the other servants as she went back and forth carrying flowers or food or blankets to various people and places. She helped clean the laundry and the rooms around the palace. All in all, she tried to act the way she had for the past three weeks of her stay in the Hittie world. But now she was once again stared at as a goddess instead of merely a strange servant who talked funny.

Kiara was getting really freaked out by all of the stares again. If she had been back home people would have told her she did a good job and then joked with her about what a wreck she'd looked like after she'd come out of the water all drenched and ragged. If she had been in New York or L.A., they would have tried to get her on a talk show like Oprah or the View so she could talk about it.

Here in Byblos everyone just stared. She could feel the whispers spreading around when her back was turned, but to her face all she saw was the stares and a lot of head nodding and small bows.

_I wonder what they're saying about me now. _She thought as she tucked Deiru into bed. It was late, the party had already started down in the ballroom. She had been invited, but she had wanted to make sure Deiru was taken care of first. _I wonder if if its good rumors or bad ones? Can there be good rumors, or all they all bad? _I shook my head and left the room quietly. A maid walked in past me to sit with the prince while he slept, and there were two guards at the door to make sure nothing like yesterday happened.

I walked down to my room slowly. I heard the loud laughter and music of the festivities going on in the ballroom. I smiled softly remembering some of the parties I had attended on the ranch and in the uptown cities like New York or London.

I entered my room. I had been asked and invited to the party. It was kinda actually a summons. A "please, you have to come" type invite. I sighed as I slipped out of the plain white dress I had been wearing all day. Hadi had given me something to wear tonight.

I slipped into a light simple pale lavender dress. It had a dark blue sash around the waist and a v-neck neck-line and two wide straps for the shoulders. I pulled on my dark blue cloak that I had found again that morning. It draped around my shoulders mostly hiding the dress and me under it. I didn't mind. I re-did the pony-tail in my hair so that my hair was a little more fluffy and light, and I smoothed my long bangs out. I put on a silver bracelet from my bag and some clear lip gloss. I know I looked plain and boring, but I wasn't planning on staying at the party long. Just long enough to say that I had been there, and then I would leave and get some sleep.

I left my room and felt a little nervous as I walked to where the party was. I started to chew in my bottom lip, but then I stopped when I remembered the lip-gloss.

I walked through the open doors of the ballroom and saw lots of fine lords and ladies all talking together and laughing. It was actually a small sized group, but it was still a lot of people.

_Here you go pop star. _I braced myself and entered the fray and the jungle that was always the result of putting rich people together.


	26. Celebration and Wine

here's chapter 26. enjoy, review please!!

I do not own RedRiver or any of it's characters. I just decided to twist everything around for my own amusment. I do own Kiara though.

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**26: The Celebration and Wine**

Instantly I was caught up in all the glitz and glam of this high society. There was a heavy air of perfumes and incenses, and if you happened to look at someone just right, you could blind yourself from all the large amounts of shiny jewels. Everyone here wore jewelry, not just the women. In fact, the men wore more gems than the girls half of the time. I almost stood out among the crowd simply because I wasn't wearing jewelry.

I found King easily enough since he was in the middle of the room. And surrounded by lots of pretty women.

I rolled my eyes. Sometimes women just don't understand when they are not and never will be wanted. Of course I didn't see Queen anywhere around which meant that the hottie King was here all alone. So I guess those girls would have been kinda stupid not to try and take advantage of the situation.

"Hey there you. Nice party you've thrown here." I said grinning at King as I interrupted the fawning womens' chatter.

He smiled back, the perfect picture of a gentleman and thanked me for my compliment. Then I of course thanked him for the invite and congratulated him and his wife again on having a healthy kid. I laid heavy emphasis on his having wife just to bother the other women. And it worked. Then he thanked me again and I decided to run away before those women decided to strangle me with their long countless necklaces.

I knew it was bad party manners to leave three minutes after arriving, so I just slowly wandered through the room. I passed by a servant with a tray of wine glasses, and deciding that it couldn't hurt to have a little, I took a glass.

There were dancers and musicians in one of the corners. I watched them for a while taking note of the stranger styles of this century. It was nothing like the heavy pop, techno that was fast becoming the main thing in the U.S. Which meant it was also nothing like what I sang. Usually I sang poppy, fun songs with a good beat and fun lyrics. I loved to dance fast and easy. Naturally I had a few slow songs too, but those weren't anything like this Hittie music either.

This music was more of drums and slow hypnotic beats and little bells and wind insturments. The dancer had a big long ribbon, and she was using her hips and legs and arms to show long drawn out moves with lots of flexibility.

_I could do that._ I thought watching for a minute. Then when I got bored; I slowly turned and walked around the room again.

I said hello to Kash and some of the others I actually knew, but for the most part I was just a wallflower existing in the back-round. I didn't mind really, but I was kinda bored. I suppose I could have simply left, but then I'd be bored and alone in my room listening to them all have fun up here.

I sighed and realized that I was kinda warm. I walked out onto the little balcony that was open to the cool night air. Sighing I leaned on the stone railing and stared up at the sky. I took a few sips of the wine, but I wasn't really that keen on the flavor.

_I wonder when it's over?_ I thought with another sigh as I stared at the sky. Then I heard someone walking up beside me.

* * *

Ramses had been invited to attend the party. He knew that part of it was for political reasons, but he also suspected that Mursili just wanted to have another chance to rub it in his face that Yuri wasn't Ramses's woman. Needless to say he was not happy to be at the party. Constantly hearing about the happy healthy baby girl born of Yuri and Mursili was really grating on his nerves and patience.

_And by the end of the year they shall probably be expecting yet another child._Ramses thought sourly as he refilled his wine glass. Being in Hattusa surrounded by constant reminders of Yuri and Mursili was proving to be as irritating as he had expected it to be; it was even worse in fact. He seriously hoped that he could make it through his time here without damaging his name or Egypt's position with the Hitties too much.

Once he got to Hattusa it would be better probably. He could at least look forward to new women to play with. As long as he was discreet and careful of course.

Speaking of distractions, he happened to notice someone with long brown hair walk out onto the balcony. Knowing that there was only one woman with that strange brown colored hair around here, he followed her.

She was leaning on the railing and staring up at the sky. Her shoulders were slumped, and her back tense. She looked unhappy and uncomfortable. He walked up beside her and leaned onto the railing next to her. He was very curious about this woman. He couldn't leave the party yet without appearing rude or letting Mursili think he was bothered, so he thought he could spend the time figuring this strange person out.

She glanced at him when he stood beside her, but then she turned away and took another sip from her wine glass. He saw the faint grimace as if she did not like the taste.

"The wine does not please you?" he asked trying to start a conversation.

She shook her head slightly whether in denial or confirmation he couldn't tell. "I've never had wine before. Perhaps I'm just not used to it." she answered staring at the dark red liquid in her bronze cup.

"Perhaps, and perhaps this wine is simply to strong for someone like yourself."

"What about me?" she asked looking at him evenly with her strange blue eyes.

He smirked slightly and took a sip of his own wine. "You seem young, perhaps the wine is too strong for someone so young and inexperienced."

"Who said I was inexperienced?" she asked with a small smirk of her own. She took a large sip of the wine as if to taunt him then. He grinned. This was proving to be a nice distraction. She seemed fun, perhaps tonight....

"Are you experienced then?" he asked leaning a little closer to her. Her grin widened then she turned away.

"With wine? No. But with life, perhaps." she was deliberately being vague to tease him. He was even more curious now, having seen that sly grin of hers and hearing her smooth soft voice speak in riddles.

"How much of life?" he asked leaning in closer again. "Perhaps you need more experience."

She looked at him again, then down at her glass. Her smile faded, and she sighed heavily. "Enough to know what men like you are after, and enough to know that I want no part of it." she answered honestly.

He pulled away from her with a slight frown realizing that she did not wish to flirt with him anymore. That was too bad; he had a feeling she could have been fun. But he was still curious about her, so he stayed next to her.

"Then what are you experienced in?" he asked trying to get her talking to him again.

"I dunno, a few different things I guess." she answered with a shrug. That was an annoying and empty answer. He wanted more details than that.

"Things like jumping off of roofs and onto burning ships?" he asked. She glanced at him, and she looked a little annoyed now. He wondered why.

"I was a lifeguard back where I come from. Lifeguards jump into the water to save drowning people all the time. And my father taught me to be strong anyway." she said with a slight scowl as she looked out at the garden below them.

"Lifeguards eh? Interesting. Was your father one of these lifeguards?"

Her head ducked down and for a moment he couldn't see her face as her hair obscured it. Then she looked up again, and he saw that her eyes were sad. "No, he was a military man. Like you I guess, only he never had a high fancy position."

A military man huh? Perhaps that explained some of her toughness the day before. She said her father had taught her to be strong. "Was he the one who taught you to jump onto burning ships and yell at soldiers then?"

She smiled softly remembering how she had shouted at everyone yesterday. "I guess he did."

He found himself smiling along with her. "Would he be proud then? You saved a lot of people yesterday."

Her smiled faltered and disappeared. Her hands clenched around the wine glass and shook for a moment. "My father...he died. About two years ago." she said softly. He could hear the pain and grief in her voice and knew her father must have meant a lot to her.

"I'm sorry." he said softly. She shook her head and shrugged at the same time.

"It's not like it's your fault. You don't have to be sorry. It's been two years." she took a large gulp of the wine then scowled remembering that she hated the taste.

"What happened?" he asked softly. He didn't want to hurt her, but he wanted to know. And sometimes it was better to say these things out loud.

"He was part of the stupid military." she said a little bitterly. "There's a war back home, and he got called out. He stopped sending letters or calling, and I stopped waiting for him. Then I got the knock on my door, and they handed me the letter. He was dead; died in action." her voice shook as she said the last part, and she was staring down at her hands clenched around the cup. "So that's why I won't date any military men. They may be nice and strong, but one day they leave, and then they never come home. And all you can do is wait for someone to hand you that letter that says they're gone; forever."

Ramses stood there watching her. He hadn't thought...he hadn't expected her to say so much or to have so much to say. He was becoming fully aware that she was very unhappy and lonely inside. The loss of her father seemed to have hit her hard and left quite a hole in her life.

"And your mother?" he asked softly. When she flinched again he sighed knowing that he had hit another nerve. He didn't mean to hurt her; he just wanted to know about her.

"Mamma died when I was baby; it was always just me and daddy; except when he had to go work somewhere, and I stayed home with friends."

"I guess I should be happy. He taught me a lot, and I'm very strong now thanks to him. I don't have to worry about much because I can protect myself and other people too." she looked up at the sky, and her hands shook a little less. She seemed to be gaining control of herself again.

He watched her for a moment in silence. What was it about her? Why did he even bother to ask about her? She had said that she didn't want to play, and then she had again made it clear that she would have nothing to do with a man in the army. So why did he not just leave her to go find different distraction?

He had no answer for that.

She looked down at her glass suddenly, and then over at him again. He was surprised to see a small glint of amusement in her eyes. Her moods seemed to shift rather quickly.

"Why am I telling you all of this? I hardly ever talk to anyone like this. Not even my friends back home."

He smirked softly. "Perhaps you are attracted to me." he said with a chuckle. He had seen they way she had looked at him yesterday. He knew she thought he was handsome.

She laughed with him. "No I think I'm drunk." she said putting the cup down on the ledge and letting go of it. "Although you are really cute." she said with another laugh.

He smirked wider. She was drunk? That made sense. In fact, he could see the glaze in her blue eyes and she was swaying a little on her feet. "I'm cute you say?" that wasn't quite the word he was looking for, but it was something.

"Yes you are, and I'm sure I'm tipsy." she said with another laugh. She suddenly leaned down and propped her elbow up on the railing, and then put her chin in her hand. "Hey General, what's your name again?" she asked.

Abruptly he scowled and became annoyed. What was with this woman? They had been standing here talking for a while now, and she hadn't even remembered his name? Even after she had stared at him yesterday?

"Ramses." he said evenly as he stared at her. He crossed his arms across his chest and leaning against the railing as well.

"Oh, right. Ramses." she was silent for a moment. "You know, you seem kinda arrogant."

_Arrogant!? What a little brazen wench._ He thought glaring down at her.

"And a playboy too. Have you ever had a relationship with a woman that lasted more than a few weeks?" she asked sounding innocent. It was if she was just saying whatever popped into her head, and he had no doubt that that was exactly what she was doing.

_Irritating woman. She flirts, then becomes sad and angry and now she's drunk and asking questions she has no business asking._ "You seem to be losing control of yourself. It might be best for you if you were to go to your room now." he said trying not to loose his temper with the woman. He was finding her very annoying now.

"I'm in complete control. I think. Can you control yourself? I think you can. But you probably like to control everyone else too."

_Impudent—! It's just the wine. It's just the wine._ He reminded himself. Except that she was still thinking the thoughts even if the only reason she was saying them aloud was because of her drunkenness. "I strongly suggest that you go elsewhere now." Ramses said grinding his teeth together.

"You can't tell me what to do." she said stubbornly. She stood in front of him and crossed her arms, glaring at him with her chin raised in defiance.

He was tempted to shout at her and teach her a lesson, but then he thought of something more fun. Grinning widely, he leaned down close to her until his lips were just beside her ear. Then he whispered softly:

"If you don't leave now, I might just have to take advantage of your drunkenness by bringing you with me to my room for the night." he whispered in a soft husky voice.

She blushed heavily instantly knowing what he was implying. He smirked even more seeing the red stain her cheeks. He didn't think he would mind going through with his threat either. She was pretty even if she was a little plain.

She stood there blushing for a few seconds after his words, then she glared at him and stepped back, clenching her hands at her sides.

"I'm not a whore you pervert!" she stated loudly before turning and leaving. He saw her walked out of the ballroom no doubt on her way to the safety of her own room somewhere. He chuckled amused. Then he left the party himself.

He was lying in his bed that night trying to fall asleep before he remembered why he had wanted to talk to her in the first place.

_Well she certainly distracted me from that damn party._ He thought with amusement and annoyance. _But she was very irritating for such a small woman._

Chuckling again at the look on her face when he had threatened to spend the night with her, and feeling annoyed at her for calling him an arrogant playboy, he fell asleep easily, and for the first time since coming here, he didn't dream of Yuri.

* * *

**so what do you think? have Kiara and Ramses started something, or are they going to annoy each other all the time? Let me know in your reivews!!**


	27. A Problem and Relaxation

I do not own Sheryl Crow or her songs! Nor do I own Shania Twain or her songs! I do not own RedRiver! I do own Kiara and this plot-line.

Alright now, don't forget to review please people!!! I know some people don't have time or they can't review for some reason, but if your just being lazy then that's mean. :P review please!!!!

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**27: A Problem and Relaxation**

"Dammit!" a man said banging his fist down on the table and knocking over two glasses of ale. His fellows at the table seemed to agree with his sentiment, but they also seemed annoyed that he had just spilled their drinks. "This is the second time that we've been foiled like this! Why the hell are our attacks failing?!"

Another man seated a little ways from them in the dark room shifted in his seat. He ran his thumb up and down the bright blade of his dagger and waited for his companion to calm down.

For the last five weeks these four men had been meeting together so that they could come up with a way to solve their problem.

Agathon sighed inwardly at the brashness of his co-conspirator. If he, Agathon hadn't been here to keep things in check, King Mursili would have destroyed this small rebellion easily. But so far Agathon had kept things in check, in control, and secret.

"They fail because of that new woman. She has managed to somehow save the child twice now."

"Who the hell is she?!" Dion shouted loudly.

"They say she's a goddess, but no one knows which one." another man named Iason said thoughtfully.

"The King must be fortunate indeed to have two goddess in his house." Phocas mumbled softly. The others ignored him and his comment.

"And now that Queen has had another brat! The king's fortune just keeps growing!" Dion shouted unhappy. The others were silent; none of them liked that the King seemed so lucky and prosperous.

Agathon glanced at the blade in his hands. That night everyone was out celebrating for the new princess. Those who weren't still grieving over the loss of the harbor of course.

That trick at the docks took a lot of preparing and work. And then that woman had come and ruined everything. She truly might be a goddess. She had had no way of knowing where the prince was, and yet she had found and saved him any way.

_Damn her for that. _Agathon thought irritated. And the first attempt to get the child weeks ago had also been foiled by this strange goddess. She had come out of no where to pull the child to safety, and then defeated all of the assailants. He would be impressed with her if it wasn't his own plans she was ruining. Not that the first kidnapping had been his idea actually, that had been Dion getting a head of himself.

"We will come up with a new plan. We will get revenge for our ungracious dismissal." Agathon said coolly. The others looked at him and nodded. They all felt the same.

They were once the generals in the Queen's own army. Now they had been dismissed from that service, and they were nothing. But they would not let the king get away with that. They had no money, no more honor, and very little else, which meant they had nothing to loose.

_We will pay him back for dismissing us this way. _Agathon thought determined. He was already thinking up a new plan.

* * *

Her head hurt. She groaned loudly and untangled herself from all of the blankets. It might have just been the wine, but last night had seemed to be really cold.

_When is winter around here anyway? And how cold does it get? It doesn't rain, so can they get snow?_ She pulled off her softball shorts and t-shirt and slipped into the plain white dress. She brushed her hair carefully, and then stood. She needed to get some water. They said water was good for getting rid of hangovers. Well it seemed she was having her first hangover.

_And I didn't even drink that much. I must have no tolerance for alcohol. I think dad said mamma did bad with alcohol too._ Having a sudden inspiration, she dug into her bag and found that she did have a small bottle of aspirin. She took two now, and then left the room in search of water.

She went to stand outside the kitchen. "Kayla?" she called softly trying not to aggravate her hangover.

There were a few angry murmurs and some were scared. _Now that's offensive. I didn't break that oven on purpose. _She thought with a slight shrug. The kitchen servants thought she was funny, but they feared having her anywhere near their precious kitchens.

The head chief whom Kiara learned was named Kayla came out. She wiped her hands off on her apron and looked at Kiara with a suspicious side-ways glare. "What do you need?"

"I think I need something to eat." Kiara shrugged. She really had no idea what to do to cure a hangover. A few of her boyfriends liked the drink deer, but when they got themselves drunk she drove them home and dumped them in their beds. Once or twice she had thrown them fully clothed into a cold shower, but usually she only did that if she was mad.

"Your head aches from the wine then?" Kayla laughed with a stern look. Kiara winced at the loud laugh, but the pain was lessening. Maybe the aspirin was working? Or perhaps the alcohol stopped hurting her head as easily as it started. "You young ones never know when to stop drinking."

"I've never had any wine or ale before. And I swear I only had a little." Kiara said with a slight blush. Kayla scoffed. She had probably heard that excuse a lot. But she disappeared into the kitchen. A few moments later she returned with a large cup of water and some bread.

"Thanks." Kiara murmured accepting the food. Kayla gave a nod and then quickly bustled back into her kitchen to check on her helpers and the food. Kiara ate the bread slowly and drank all of the water. She was done with her breakfast in about five minutes. Bored she stood leaning against the wall thinking. When a servant passed by about the hurry into the kitchen, Kiara asked them to bring in the glass. The servant looked at Kiara and recognized her as the woman who had broken the oven. The servant held back a laugh and took the glass with a smile.

_Yeah yeah yeah. So funny._Kiara thought rolling her eyes as she left the hallway and laughter of the servant behind her.

I wandered down the halls until I came to the nursery. I opened the door and looked inside.

Deiru was still sleeping. A woman sat beside him, and she seemed to be dozing. Not recognizing the woman as one of Deiru's maids, I walked in slowly.

The woman woke up at my approach and she immediately checked on Deiru. Then she saw me.

"You must be Kiara. They said you would be coming in the morning." the woman said relaxing back into her seat.

"And who are you?" I asked evenly without seeming friendly or aggressive.

"I am Fatala, a healer. The prince was unwell last night, so I have been looking after him."

Instantly I looked towards the kid. He looked flushed and there was a light sheen of sweat on his face. "He was sick?" I asked surprised. Poor kid. He didn't look bad when I left him last night. I saw the bag filled with herbs and other medical-like thingys on the floor next to Fatala. She had been left alone with him all night it seemed, so she must be trust worthy.

"Is he okay?" I asked pushing his little bangs out of his face. His skin was very hot, and he looked so pitiful. _Poor baby. _I thought sadly.

"It seems to be a mild flu or sorts. He is getting better. By tomorrow I expect him to be completely well again."

I nodded. _That's good. He'll be better. I suppose every kid gets the flu at some point. I used to get one once a year; right near Christmas too. That was a pain in the butt._

"I was told to let you know that since he is to be in bed all day, you may relax today." Fatala said. I nodded again. With one last glance at the kid I turned and left the room.

_Now what?_

I stood leaning against the wall and wondered what to do. I could go help the servants some more. I'm sure there are things to clean up around here. I liked to keep active. But I didn't really like cleaning so much. I was used to it; daddy liked to keep everything nice and clean. So I did clean, but I didn't like it much.

_I wanna play. _I thought childishly. This was the longest I think I'd ever gone without doing something fun. My job—the singing, dancing and occasional acting _was_ fun. I _loved_ my job. But here I was bored.

The sun was shinning brightly through the windows in the hall. It looked beautiful outside. And it was warm again. With a smile, I strolled down the hallways and found my way outside into the garden.

It really was beautiful outside. The sky was perfectly bright blue, the sun was warm and bright, there was a small breeze to prevent overheating, and little birds could be heard twitting at each other some where close by.

I heard some kind of music from near the back of the garden, so I went to look. Ilvani was sitting underneath a big tree. He had a small funny looking guitar thing in his lap. Well it looked kinda like a guitar, and it sounded a little like a guitar, but it had a skinnier neck, a smaller body, and only four strings.

Not wanting to interrupt him and his peace, I silently crept behind him then stood behind the tree listening to the soft music. It was nice, peaceful. Even if it wasn't really the kinda stuff I listened to back home. After a moment of staring up into the sky and the leaves of the tree overhead, I turned and grabbed hold of a lower branch. When was the last time I had climbed a tree? A long time ago. But I loved to climb trees.

With a small childlike smirk I silently made my way onto a high tree branch. I found the perfect one to sit on. It was nice and thick. It made a perfect little seat so that I could lean against the tree trunk. And it was directly in the middle of a big patch of sunlight. I could sit here and listen to the soft music and feel the warm sun on my face. If Ilvani happened to look up, I would be within easy view, but I didn't care. And who ever looked up that much anyway?

A few minutes later Ilvani stopped playing. I opened my eyes to see why.

"Your Highness. Should you be up so soon?" Ilvani asked. He put his instrument down by the tree and stood up to walk away.

Queen's voice filtered to me from the ground. "I've been in bed since the birth two nights ago. I just needed to move around a bit." she said with a laugh. Ilvani said something in reply to her, but I wasn't really listening. It had just occurred to me that I hadn't played a guitar or any instrument in nearly a month. I didn't like that idea. I loved to play music.

While Yuri and Ilvani talked with each other, I very carefully moved so that I was on the tree branch closest to the ground. I was directly over the small guitar thing. No one saw me as I swung down, grabbed the guitar, and then swung back up again. Smiling happily at my catch I moved back to my perch in the sun.

I looked at the guitar thing for a moment, then I carefully started to tune it. It only had four strings, and the sound wasn't quite the same as what I usually used. What could I do with this little thing?

I felt the sunshine and was grateful that it was warm out today. I didn't like cold weather much. Snow might be fun to play in, and cold weather came with cute sweaters and hot cocoa and stuff, but I really liked sunbathing better.

I knew what I wanted to play. With a small chuckle I played a few cords to test the sound and then I launched into one of my old favorite songs.

* * *

Yuri was just assuring Ilvani that she was fine and that Hadi was coming in a moment to watch her when they both heard some music coming from nearby.

"What's that?" Yuri wondered. They didn't see anyone else in the garden, but the music was definitely coming from nearby. The music was coming from by the tree. Curious, the two of them moved over towards the tree. The sound of the music got louder. Yuri glanced up and gasped softly.

Kiara was sitting up on a tree branch holding Ilvani's instrument. She was smiling softly and playing the pretty music they heard, and the sunlight was all around her. After playing a few more cords she started to sing softly and Yuri and Ilvani stood there listening in surprise.

_My friend the communist,_

_Holds meetings in his RV,_

_I can't afford his gas,_

_So I'm stuck here watching TV,_

_I don't have digital,_

_I don't have diddly squat,_

_It's not having what you want,_

_It's wanting what you got._

_I'm...gonna soak up the sun._

_I'm gonna tell everyone, to lighten up..._

_I'm gonna tell them that,_

_I...got no one to blame,_

_For every time I feel lame,_

_I'm looking up,_

_I'm gonna soak up the sun._

_I'm gonna soak up the sun._

_Wow! She really can sing! _Yuri thought amazed. Kiara had said she was a singer, but they hadn't ever heard her singing. But now they could see that she was really good. Hadi had come over to find her Queen and she stood next to Yuri and Ilvani watching Kiara as well.

_Don't have no master suite,_

_But I'm still the king of me._

_You have a fancy ride,_

_But babe,_

_I'm the one who has the key,_

Ramses was wandering through the gardens bored. There was nothing to do in the small little palace. He doubted there would be much to do in Hattusa either.

He silently cursed his luck for getting sent here in the first place. He was pacing along annoyed when he heard something strange.

It was like music, but different from any music he had ever heard. And there was a voice singing. It was a beautiful voice, but the words were strange. They didn't seem to make sense. He moved in the direction of the music to see what it was. He found Yuri, Ilvani and one of the maids staring up into a tree. None of them noticed his arrival. He looked up at the tree to see where the music was coming from and why they were so interested in it.

_That's that strange irritating woman!_ He thought in surprise. Her voice was beautiful. He'd noticed that it was smooth and sweet last night, but now while she was singing he found it to be very intoxicating.

_Every time I turn around,_

_I'm looking up, you're looking down,_

_Babe something's wrong with you,_

_That makes you act the way you do,_

_Maybe I am crazy too,_

_I...I'm gonna soak up the sun._

_I'm gonna tell everyone, to lighten up..._

_I'm gonna tell them that,_

_I...I've got no one to blame._

_For every time I feel lame,_

_I'm looking, up._

_I'm gonna soak up the sun._

_While it's still free,_

_I'm gonna soak up the sun,_

_Before it goes out on me._

_I'm gonna soak up the sun._

Kiara let the cord fade out with a smile. Yes, she loved singing and playing. It was so much fun. She felt better now too that she had done this. She hadn't realized how much she missed playing until a she had started.

She knew there were some people looking up at her; watching her, listening to her. But she didn't care. She sang for millions. Why did she care if a few people came to stare at her for doing what she loved?

_Although I suppose none of them have heard of Sheryl Crow before. The lyrics probably confused them._ She almost laughed at the thought.

She grabbed the guitar with one had and used her other hand to push her off of the tree branch. She jumped down and landed lightly in front of her small audience.

She handed the guitar back to a staring Ilvani.

"Here you go." she said with a smirk. Then with a tiny wave at the others she turned on her heel and flounced away. They watched her go with shock.

Kiara laughed to herself as another one of her old favorites popped into her head.

_Man! I feel like a woman. _she thought with a laugh.

* * *

"So we all understand the plan?" Agathon asked checking again. The others nodded. "Good, go get ready. We start in a few hours." the men set out to put their evil plan into action. Agathon turned to look out a window in the inn room he was staying in. He could see the palace from here.

They would attack tonight. Their forces were already here and waiting. Most of the Nakia's army had been laid off and none of them were happy about it. Tonight they would get their payback.

It was almost perfect. Ishtar had just had her baby, so she would be weak and easy to get to. The king would be distracted from the earlier attack, and he wouldn't be expecting another attack so soon. He might not even expect another attack at all. And here in Byblos they had less guards than in Hattusa.

Tonight they would attack in secret and they would win. They would capture both Ishtar and her two children, and they would make the king suffer for firing them so easily. Perhaps they would kill the children or Ishtar. Perhaps they would simply ransom them. Either way was fine with him. It still got him his revenge.

For the first time since their last attack had failed three days ago, Agathon smiled. It was a evil cruel smile. And it fit the evil cruel man very well.

* * *

The songs I featured were "Soak Up the Sun" by Sheryl Crow and "Man! I Feel Like a Woman." by Shania Tawin.

**A/N:** I don't know if they had the flu back then but I'm gonna guess they did. I also don't know if Kiara could have used Ilvani's guitar thing like that or not but I'm gonna say that she was able to cause it's my story. haha, a little cliff-hanger for you again. :P review please.


	28. About the Attacks?

Sorry sorry sorry!!! This is the second time in like a month that I've been late. but this chapter was really annoying cause right in the middle of it it was so boring. but i had to go through this before we got back to anything fun.

And I just wanna say thanks again to all the people who read, review, or add my story to their alerts or favorites. It means a lot that people bother to read what I'm writing much less that they like it. :) Thanks y'all.

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**28: About the Attacks?**

After I had given the little performance I felt a lot better. I wandered through the palace halls for a while, but I still didn't have much to do. After a while I went exploring again. But that wasn't much fun cause I had already been all around inside the palace. Well I hadn't been in every room, but lots of the rooms were the same or they were someone's bedroom so I didn't need to go in there. I was bored though.

Of course, I had been around the inside and outside of the palace, but I hadn't been on the topside of the palace yet.

I went to the fourth floor and wandered around looking for more stairs or something. How does one get the roof here? It's not like there's an elevator. I wandered around a little, and, eventually, I did find the door way and the stairs that led to the roof. Once I was there I just kinda walked along.

The roofs were flat here, that made the walking easier, but I wouldn't have minded the challenge of a slanted roof. I've slept on slanted rooftops before. I was able to find a nice corner where it was quiet, and where I could sit in the very warm sunlight and just relax. I wish it could always be so warm and comfortable, but I was pretty sure I'd be in for a hard winter soon. Unless that well opened up. Why wouldn't it? Where did the water go, and what was keeping it from coming back?

I sat there on the roof feeling a little morbid really. I wanted to go home. I had been hoping to go back to Tennessee and be with Grandma and everyone for a while. I didn't have a grandma actually, but everyone called Leila 'Grandma' since she was the nicest little old woman anyone ever saw. She wasn't even frail or anything. She was a stubborn strong old lady, and I had been living with her for years.

It would be good to be home again if I could ever get there. Would I ever get back or was I stuck here forever? I should probably ask Queen a little bit more about how she got here. But I didn't really talk to Queen. Nor King, nor Ilvani nor Kash nor any of the others. Just because they didn't hate me anymore didn't automatically make us best buddies or anything.

It really is like high school. We don't clash with each other, but we just don't mix either. Like cheerleaders and the girls on the softball team. They had similarities but different social circles. At my school anyway.

I shook my head not wanting to think of things that were so sour. Instead I tried to think of something else. But what? I was bored. What did I think of to distract me when there was nothing distracting around. I looked down and saw Yuri and Hadi wander back inside the palace. She had had a baby without morphine or anything two days ago; she had to be tired. I was surprised that she had been up for as long as she had. Although she had been in this era longer than I had. Maybe she was used to it?

I sighed. Now I needed a new distraction. What had happened lately? Surely I had things to think about? I wasn't a complete air-bubble. Although I kinda felt like it today.

The docks.

I shook my head again. I did not want to think about more tragic disasters. The last disaster I had been witness to...well. It had taken months to let go of it. But that was partly cause it was all over the media. I mean, come one. Terrorist attacks like that meant big TV ratings. New York was really not the place to be at that point.

Thinking about how I didn't want to think about the docks led me to thinking about how I didn't want to think about my father. Which made me sad again.

I had said goodbye to him yet again. He left a lot. He was a good marine and a good man. But mamma was dead, so he was all I had and He had to leave me with Grandma Leila every time he went away; which had been a lot. When I was about seven, he started training me to be strong. He would take me out camping and hiking when he was home, and he would teach me with knives and guns and how to fight. I was proud of him, and he was proud of me too.

But he'd had to leave again. He had gotten called to Iraq again. I stood on the porch steps of the old ranch house Grandma Leila and I lived in as he walked into his old pick-up and drove away. He had smiled and calledme his 'baby girl' again. He promised to write once a week and call every chance he got.

He had left a lot, but he had always written and called. And he had always come back.

After a month, the letters stopped coming. I waited for six weeks before I stopped waiting. I wasn't looking for a letter or a call from him anymore. I was waiting for a letter from the army.

And after three more weeks I got the letter.

I had been horseback riding all morning. Driving the mustang hard and fast in an attempt to calm down and cheer up after so much silence from my father. I had just gotten into the house and pulled off my boots and went to get a snack when there was a knock on the door.

A kid was standing there. He could have only been 18 or so. An early recruit I guess. He handed me the envelope without a word and walked away. Usually they try to say that they are sorry for your loss or something, but this kid didn't say a word as he got back into his little black car and drove away.

I didn't need to open the thin white envelope to know what was inside.

I didn't cry. Daddy always told me not to cry. Cowgirls don't cry. So I didn't cry. Not when I read the letter, not when I told Grandma he wasn't coming home, not at the funeral, the wake, not when they laid the flag over his coffin and then handed me his medal. I never cried because he wouldn't have wanted me too.

I looked up at the blue sky. I still felt morbid, but maybe a little better. Maybe it was good to think these things out. To move on a bit from the pain. I hadn't every really talked about it before.

Until last night anyway.

_Eh, that's right. I told that general about daddy. That he died, that I didn't date military for reasons like that. _I thought softly. For a moment I felt like I had lost a heavy burden. That actually telling someone about that has a relief. Then I sat up with wide eyes.

_I told that guy that I didn't date military cause I was afraid my future-husband would never come home! __And I called him a playboy! And arrogant! How the hell did I get drunk without noticing?! I swear I only had a little of the wine! It tasted so horrible! If I was gonna get drunk off of something couldn't it at least have tasted good?!_

I groaned in my head. I was an idiot. I was really, really, an idiot.

And then he had threatened me! I remembered that too. He had had told me to either go away or he would take me off somewhere and attack me.

Well he hadn't said it quite like that, but I was really disgusted with men like that. Men who thought they could just smile and women would fall into their arms. I hated guys like that a lot.

I sighed and my thoughts shifted to the memory of a different conversation I had had yesterday. A much more serious and important conversation.

Ilvani, King, Kash, and Mettannamuwa, as well as a few others I wasn't as familiar with, had called me into another court/study like room to ask me about the docks thing. They had wanted to know if I saw anything useful so that they could find out what happened. I had been a little surprised at first that the King himself was so involved in the investigation, but then I'd remembered that there wasn't a CIA or the FBI around here to work through problems like this. Besides, King seemed to be a rather 'hands-on' kinda guy.

_"So you can't think of anything that would be helpful?" Ilvani asked me in that dry empty tone of his._

_"I've already said it thirty times; I saw Deiru down at the docks and it looked like a kidnapping, so I went to go get him. The docks happened to blow up then and get in my way." I answered. I really had already gone over this with them many many times._

_"And the man who had the prince, you can't identify him at all?"_

_"He was tall with long black hair—like half of the people around here—and he was tanned." for heaven's sake he had to have been more than 100 feet away from me with his back in my direction. It was really amazing that I had been able to identify the little boy. But I knew Deiru really well, so I could tell it was him._

_"You said that someone tried to stop you from saving the prince, but you didn't see that person either." Ilvani seemed unhappy that I had so little information for some one who had been so close to the action. If I didn't know any better than I'd think he was suspicious of me again. Which is to say, I did think he was beginning to doubt me again. Loser idiot. Why would I have saved the prince at all if that was the point? If I was trying to kill him? I'd have had perfect alibi even. I was with the king at the time of the incident._

_"He was a lot taller than me. I think my head reached the middle of his chest. And his arms were really big and beefy, uh muscular." I thought about it for a minute then I remembered something else. "And there was something on his arm. Like a scar or something. There was a really rough patch of skin. And it was big and long." I remembered the strange gross grating feeling of that rough skin on my neck._

_"It sounds like we might be looking for a solider." King said with a slight scowl._

_I didn't say anything in reply but kept trying to find more details. They had questioned me for another half an hour before letting me get back to work._

I sighed. I still had no other information and as far as I could tell they didn't have any definite clues either. It was just a bad thing all around.

_Why so secretive? Usually when someone makes a terrorist attack like this I thought they made it obvious so that they could take credit and bring fear or something. But these attacks have been so careful. As if whoever is behind it doesn't want to be found out._

For being a Marine's daughter I knew I was horribly unaware of war tactics. I knew how to fight and sneak around and defend myself, but the strategies and such were something I had never learned or bothered to want to learn. But I did watch a lot of TV; NCIS, The Closer, Monk, In Plain Sight, Bones...those were some of my favorite shows. And if you learned anything from shows like that—besides the obvious you're gonna get caught if you do bad stuff—it was that there was always a motive or reason. And different motives usually came with different tactics for somethings.

Like serial killers; they usually liked people to know that they were responsible for the multiple murders even if they didn't want to be caught. Which meant they usually left some kind of obvious trademark. Usually a really gross and horrible one too. But still.

This secretiveness seemed highly unlikely if this was supposed to be a big message to Kail and Yuri. But it was obviously a message to them since Deiru had been the intended victim twice.

But was the message for Kail as himself or as the king?

_What if.... _it kinda made me think of some of the kidnapping episodes from the TV. Usually the kidnapper wanted the money or ransom, but they didn't always want to be seen or heard of. What if these attempts on Deiru were meant to be attacks on Kail and Yuri personally? Not as the figureheads of a powerful empire, but as the parents of a small child?

Why? Why would someone attack a prince if it didn't have political meaning?

Money maybe, but they hadn't tried to keep Deiru for ransom the second time; they tried to kill him right away. Which meant...revenge?

I thought about it for a minute. Then I blinked and shook my head.

_Idiot! Who do you think you are, huh?_ I asked myself with a laugh. I didn't know anything about this kind of stuff. In fact, if I was doing anything it was over-thinking. Not only did I know nothing about political problems and attacks like this, but I was horrible at using logic which meant my thought processes were usually all over the place. So I had probably gotten all off track and simply confused myself.

_Haha you stupid. You're no Adrian Monk so stop trying to be smart and fix something you don't even know about._ With a laugh and feeling better now that I had something to laugh at—even if it was myself—I stood up and went inside.

I was able to entertain myself for the rest of the day now by doing a few various little things here and there like going through my bag again to see what was inside. After dinner that night I felt extra tired for some reason so I went to bed. I was still laughing at myself and my stupidity as I fell asleep that night.

* * *

I woke up hours and hours later. I had a horrible strange feeling. It was the kind of feeling you have just after a bad nightmare. My skin was all prickly and my heart was going too fast. I had large amounts of adrenaline pumping through me, and no reason for it to be there. I took a few big breaths trying to calm down. I didn't think I'd had a bad dream, but I couldn't remember.

I called myself an idiot again only in annoyance this time. I pulled the covers tight around me as I laid there in my softball shorts and t-shirt feeling cold again. Then I closed my eyes and tried to go back to sleep.

I was somewhere between being completely asleep and awake when the door of my room opened.

I squeezed my eyes shut feeling that horrible nightmare feeling return again. My heart was trying to escape from my chest, and the darkness around me seemed to be stealing my air and suffocating me. There was no light in the room; the moon wasn't shinning through my window tonight.

I grabbed the pillow in my hands carefully as I heard heavy footsteps come towards me. Someone was in my room and they weren't supposed to be. I didn't have a weapon, but I could hit hard.

I tensed, ready to swing the pillow in their face and then attack them.

I waited a second too long though.

Hands quickly and roughly reached down at me and grabbed hold of my shoulders. I jerked out and swung the pillow hard at whoever was holding me. They stumbled away in surprised, but a second person appeared and shoved me down onto the bed.

I screamed bloody murder as I felt the first person's hands grab my legs as well. They were trying to hold me down on the bed, but I kicked and shoved at both of them. Before I could scream again one of them shoved their hand against my mouth nearly choking me in the process.

_What the hell is happening?! _I thought desperately as a hand wrapped itself around my neck tightly.

* * *

**Uh-Oh, something very bad seems to be happening to poor Kiara. will someone come and save her or is she on her own? :P you'll have to fin out later huh. haha, more cliff-hangers!!**


	29. Assault

**Wow!!! I can post this on time yay!!! I thought this was gonna be late again cause I managed to get sick this week. blah. But I'm better now and I've even gotten a proof-reader now! So less grammar/spelling problems for you poor readers lol. Speaking of which, Emmy, you did not create a monster when you introduced me to manga was it three years ago? All you did was speed up the process of my becoming insane. XD Thanks for that Emmy and that's not sarcasm.**

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**29: Assault**

Kiara resisted the urge to panic as the hands on her neck, mouth, wrist, and ankle all tightened. She couldn't make a sound, but she had both an arm and a leg available to kick and punch with.

Clenching her right fist which was not being held, she swung it trying to knock out whoever was holding her mouth. She could scream loudly, but she needed to get her mouth free first. Her left leg was also kicking out trying to knock away her assailants.

"Damn bitch!" one of them hissed when her foot connected with his stomach. He didn't have other hands with which to hold her down, so he put his knee over her leg to try and restrain it.

_Damn right I'm a bitch! Let me go! _She hissed inwardly as her screams were muffled. She used all of her strength and muscles. She arched her back and pulled and punched with her legs and arms, but she wasn't doing much damage and was only making her attackers mad.

"Why don't you just kill her quick?!" the one whose stomach she had punched asked with venom in his voice.

Kiara gasped as a heavy knee dug into her left wrist and held it down onto the bed. The hand on her throat moved away, and she felt what was definitely a rope near her right hand which wasn't restrained. Panic and fear shot through her when she realized they were trying to tie her down.

"For all the trouble she's causing, maybe we should have a little fun with her before we kill her." the second man said roughly as he tied her right wrist up tightly. He then dragged her wrists together and tied them both up.

"Heh maybe you're right. I mean she's asking for it with those clothes on." the first man agreed suddenly sounding excited.

_Oh no! _Hell_ no! You can't do that to me you bastards! _She fought harder, but now it only required one hand to hold down both of her arms, and the man ran his free hand down to her other leg and helped to hold that down too.

"We gotta make this quick so we can get back to the others." the second man said. The first one nodded and started to run his hand up her ankle and along her leg.

"Her skin is so soft!" he whispered with glee as he felt felt along her lower leg.

_Don't panic! THINK! This is exactly why daddy trained you! He didn't want you to be helpless like this!_

I stopped moving for a minute.

"Heh? Decided to stop fighting huh? Realize it's useless right? Don't worry then; We'll make this painless for you. If we can." the first man laughed cruelly. I tried not to gag as I felt his hand move to her ribcage.

I didn't move as I tried to figure out what position I was in, so I could find a way out of that position.

The first man was holding onto my left ankle with one hand, and his other hand was...I gritted my teeth in anger. His second hand was skimming across my waist and hips. The second man had one hand on my bound wrists and the other hand on my right knee as he held it down. Both of them were leaning over me, and they were heavy idiots.

I knew I was small. I also had no leverage in this position. The bed was fluffy, and they were direct over me.

_Don't panic! Don't panic _think_! _My brain restarted itself and began to work up a plan. Or at least it tried too.

This had never happened before. I had never been so vulnerable and helpless before. I'd been nearly mugged once or twice, the first time daddy had been there, and the second time I had been able to tackle the guy pretty easy. But right now I was—for lack or a less cliche expression—a sitting duck.

_They must have a weapon, if I can get it...._

But my hands are tied, and they probably only have swords. When they hell have I ever used a sword?!

_Don't panic!_ I reminded myself, and I overlooked both of my attackers for a weapon. The two big swords at both of their belts were easy to spot. But my hands...I was completely held down.

_Dammit! If they would just let go for a second! Distract them maybe? Or surprise them?_

I thought over my options, but I didn't have any time left. They had taken advantage of my stillness. The hand on my wrists was replaced by a knee, and the hand now moved down the hem of my shirt. The first man moved his hand down the waistband of my shorts.

My eyes widened, and I moved on instinct and self-preservation.

I rolled over to the side quickly jerking my hips and shoulders to the right and dragging my wrists down. The men were surprised by my sudden and quick movement, and they faltered.

I sat up then pulling my mouth free. I sat up directly into the first man's face, and then I released the loudest shriek I had, right into his ear.

He pushed himself away from me with an angry snarl as he tried to block out the pain I'd just brought to his eardrums. The second man grabbed hold of my shoulders and neck again and pulled me back onto the bed.

But my legs were free now so I simply kicked the man directly in the face. He jerked away from me as well. I sat up and reached for the sword in his belt even though my hands were still tied. I almost had it when my head was jerked back as the first man recovered and pulled hard on my hair.

I ignored the pain in my scalp instead focusing on bringing down the bastard who was trying to hurt me. My hair was long, so I turned around even as he grasped it in his beefy hands. I faced him, and punched him in the face with my held together fists.

I saw him reach for his sword as he clutched at his bloody nose, and I reacted on pure trained in instinct.

I kicked him hard in the gut, and he doubled over still pulling the sword from it's sheath.

I saw the metal and knew it was coming to kill me or worse. Without thought, and without even truly knowing what I was doing I performed a move that I had been taught, but had never used before.

I used my tied up wrists and hit down hard on a certain area in the back of the man's exposed neck.

His neck broke, and his body crumpled lifeless.

"_Bitch_!" the other man hissed as he grabbed me from behind again. Still feeling the adrenaline and fear for my life, I threw myself back against him. We hit the floor, my back to his front. I immediately rolled over and knelt onto the man's chest. He was dazed, but he also reached for his sword.

I used my hands again to snap his head hard to the side, and he stopped breathing beneath me.

I didn't move as I stared down at the dead man who had tried to rape and murder me. I saw that he was tan with blond hair. His chin was too big, and his face was long.

The fight slowly washed out of my head, and I was able to comprehend what I had just done.

I felt my skin grow colder, and my stomach churned.

His nose was bloody, his neck was bent in an impossible angle, and his open eyes were blank and unseeing.

I was still on top of his chest staring down at his face. I knew that the other man lay on the floor behind us, and he was dead too.

_I killed him...I killed both of them._ My mind thought blankly. _I just...._ I paled and turned cold. Shuddering I stood up and took two steps away from the body before I leaned over and emptied my stomach all over the cold floor. Coughing and gagging for breath, I sat on my knees and wiped my mouth off with the back of my hand.

_I killed someone. How could I do that? I killed someone! _It was safe to say that I was freaking out. I didn't like killing. I didn't like that some people could just shoot or knife someone, and they would die. When you die you die forever. That's how it works. So how could you do that to someone? Even if they deserve it, it's not...I mean....

_No one is perfect so what makes anyone think they can say who lives and who dies? It's so wrong. But I...._

Abruptly I started gagging again, but there was nothing left in my stomach, so I simply sat there dry heaving for a moment.

"_We gotta make this quick so we can get back to the others."_

There were others? That's what that man had said? Before I....

_Stop that!_ I thought annoyed and a little scared. If there was something going on then I didn't have time to sit here and wallow in...self-pity? No; it was disgust. Self-disgust. But I didn't have time for it.

I stood and walked over to the dead man slowly. I forced myself to look down at his face.

_Monster. He tried to hurt me. I need to let it go for now; I can hate myself later. _I tried to reason with myself; tried to think the things I know Daddy would have told me to try and move on from it, but I couldn't help but wonder if maybe I was a monster now too.

"_...to the others."_

I wasn't sure, but I thought I could hear some strange loud clashing sounds somewhere in the castle. Whoever had tried to hurt the prince before hadn't succeeded. It made sense that they would try again.

_People...people might get hurt. _I thought trying to let the concern for others into my head so that I could function again.

I forced myself to reach out and grab the man's sword in my hand. I didn't know how to use a sword, but I couldn't sit here and let other people get hurt because I was scared or being pathetic.

_They were after Deiru before. They might go after him again._

I tried to focus on him, that cute adorable sweet little boy who had excepted me from the first day I got here. I couldn't let him get hurt. Nor his little sister who was also so cute. And it's not ideal to grow up without a mother, and I couldn't imagine my father not being there for me.

For Deiru and Korinna I would try; I would protect them and their family by any means possible. Maybe that's why I was here anyway.

Finally released from the horrible feeling of self-hatred, I ran to my bag. I would probably want to wallow some more later, but for now I had a job to do.

Opening up the big sturdy messenger bag, I rifled through it and opened up the secret pocket that held my Swiss army knife. I clipped it to the waist band of my shorts and looked back at the bag. I paused a moment unsure of myself, but then I took something else of the bag as well. I stood up and placed the second item at the waistband on my back and pulled my shirt down over it.

_Oh yeah!_ I thought reaching down into the bag again. With a slight giggle this time I came up with a small can of pepper-spray. I held it in my left hand while my right hand gripped the handle of the heavy sword I had taken from the men.

I went to the door and listened carefully. There were definitely sounds out there; fighting type sounds for sure. But they didn't seem to be near here. I opened the door carefully and looked out.

The hallway was clear. I guess they had thought that sending two armed guys after me was enough. Well they happened to be wrong, and I was rather grateful for their oversight.

I took a step out and turned in the direction of the royal wing. I walked cautiously through the shadows without making any noise.

The sword was heavy in my hand. I'd heard before that swords were supposed to have some kind of balance so that it was an extension of your arm and not just a heavy piece of iron that you swing around. This sword was probably too big for me, but I didn't think the Swiss army knife would be the best thing to use if it came to a big fight.

I continued down the hallway holding onto the weapons and staying silent and alert. It was a vague concern in the back of my mind that I might have to kill someone else tonight. As much as the thought bothered me, I couldn't let myself stop and fall apart again.

I very carefully looked around the cross-section when I came to it and stared down each of the three other hallways. It was very dark, but the sounds of fighting were getting louder. I could hear some shouts and screams now. Soon the noise would probably get louder as more and more people joined into the fight.

I wonder how many attackers there are and where they are spread out. I also wonder if this was a controlled thing or if this was just a bunch of losers running around trying to ruin my night. Was there a leader, and was he an effective one?

I'd probably find out soon enough, but for now it was time to get moving again. Carefully I looked down each hallway again, then I looked behind me to make sure no one was coming from that direction.

I honestly don't know how I missed him.

Holding back a shriek I brought my heavy sword around and hit towards the tall human shape behind me. His sword came up and _very_ easily deflected mine. Then someone else stepped out from behind him as well.

"Eep!" I whispered softly backing away and holding out the pepper-spray instantly ready to use it.

"Kiara? Is that you?" the second shape whispered.

"Kash?" I suddenly felt relieved and stupid. Not only had I not noticed their creeping up behind me, but I had also tried to hit them without knowing that they were not my enemy, but instead my ally.

_Gee daddy you'd lecture me but good on this one. I honestly don't think you'd ever get finished with this. _"Kash what's happening?" I whispered back lowering my spray. Then I noticed that the first man—the one I had swung at—was that General guy. The one I had drunkenly spilled out my little sad stories to. Ah great.

"We're under attack." Kash said in a way that sounded both sarcastic and helpful.

"Yeah no duh Sherlock; tell me something else why don't you?"

"What?" Kash asked confused and a little annoyed. I mean there was something major going on here, and I was cracking jokes. He started walking past me and down the hallway carefully.

"Like what?" the general spoke for the first time as he followed Kash through the hall. He sounded slightly amused as he asked to continue on with my little one-liner.

I turned and followed them both. "Like 'Kiara you've won an Oscar, let's go to the 'Four Seasons' and celebrate."

And with that little remark of mine, we went off into the night creeping very quietly as we made our way towards the royalty wings, and hopefully, towards a safe and sound royal family.

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**Uh oh! What will happen to Yuri and her family!? Will Kiara and the others get there in time or will there be more tragedy?! Lol. Come back next week to see what crazy drama I spell out. :)**


	30. In Which Pepperspray is Used

hello!!! another chapter you u peoples who read this. thanks for reading if u do!

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**30: In Which PepperSpray is used and Fighting begins**

I followed Kash and General...why did I forget his name again? Anyway, I followed them both down the dark hallways. We knew we were getting closer to the bad guys cause the sounds of fighting were getting louder. It was funny, cause it seemed like hours were going by, but really it was only taking us a few minutes to walk along. Time probably seemed faster when you're actually fighting, but right now we were only anticipating the fight.

"I feel like Mission Impossible music should be on in the backround. And we should be dressed in black jumpsuits." I murmured more for my sake than my company's. The general stopped and looked back at me with a tiny bit of annoyance for not being quiet, but he also seemed slightly amused and slight confused.

"Again you speak of weird things." he whispered back at me before turning away.

I remembered that I'd talked to him while I was drunk. I remembered the conversation, or at least I thought I did. What if I forgot something that I said? Suddenly I felt very nervous. What had I said?!

"Like what weird things?" I asked suddenly trying to keep my voice low.

He turned back to look at me as we kept walking again, and again he looked annoyed that I had broken the silence. But he still answered me.

"Your strange song yesterday. You mentioned a 'T-V'?" he said sounding out the unfamiliar term I had used the day before.

I remembered then that while I had sang in Hittite or whatever language this was—on second thought I should ask someone what the language that I was talking was—I hadn't changed the lyrics of the song. Which meant while they could understand what I was saying they wouldn't understand the modern terms like RV's and TV's.

"Oh that...it's...um...nevermind! We're in a battle zone here! There's no time for stupid questions." I snapped. What was I supposed to say? In the future we have a type of fancy box that shows live people and places and sounds? Oh sure, I'll explain that to 'Mr.-B.C.-Ages' here when somebody explains ionic chemistry to me. I mean come on! Why is there so much math in science?! Why do I care how many ions or atoms are in a gram of salt? As long as I can put the salt on my french fries I could care less how its atoms bond together.

General looked even more annoyed with me for snapping at him, but he refrained from snapping back.

"Would you two keep it down back there! This isn't time to play you know!" Kash whispered back in a near hiss.

"Hey! He was the one asking questions here not me! Blame him!" I said pointing to the Egyptian in front of me.

"You are very annoying, do you know that?" General hissed back at me. I stuck my tongue out at him, and he scowled glaring.

"You're one to talk playboy!"

"Oi! Be _quiet_!" Kash snarled back at the both of us. The general and I sent each other another glare before turning away.

"Hey Kash, your room is on the other side of the palace like mine, how did you know something was going on?" I asked edging past the general to stand by the Hittite. The sounds of fighting were so low from my room that if those guys hadn't woken me up, I might not have noticed a thing.

"I was outside; on my way to my room, I spotted some people who didn't belong here, so I knew something was up." he answered softly. We came to another crossways and stopped to check the path. It was clear so we started off again.

"And you, General...." I racked my brain wondering why I couldn't remember his name. I mean I'm usually pretty bad with names, but this was ridiculous.

"Ramses." he said through clenched teeth. Then he looked away for a minute, and I felt curious. He was thinking I could tell; was there something he didn't want to say?

"The same as Kash there. I happened to be up and saw some people in the hallways." Ramses said after a minute. I saw Kash turn to look back at him for a minute then keep walking. The silence was just a little more tense now. I wondered why.

"What were you two doing up so late?" I liked to stay up late as much as the next person, but it was really late. Like, 3:30 or something it felt like. Probably closer to 4. And what was there to do at 4 in the morning around here?

"Just thinking was all." Kash mumbled. He looked a little sad suddenly. General looked unhappy too. Why were they both so unhappy?

Why was I thinking about it now?! For pity's sake did I now learn anything from my father!?

I shook my head trying to get out of the clouds and back into 'mission mode.'

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I suppose it was my fault for distracting the guys. I had after all brought their attentions back to whatever it was that was bothering them. I suppose that's why neither of them, nor I, realized that someone was creeping just as quietly as we were down the hall.

There were three of them, and they came down the same hall as us, but were facing in our direction while we went up the hall towards them.

"Mayday mayday!" I shrieked suddenly spotting the big guys with swords in the shadows in front of us.

The bad guys and Kash and General all moved at the same time while I just moved my big sword into a defensive position and got out of the way. I watched in awe as Kash and General mowed through the first two guys easily. The third one had sunk behind them to raise his sword at me.

With gasp I held my sword up to cover me and swung my arm around to hold the can of pepper spray right in his face. Shocked by my unexpected move, the bad guy didn't move away in time, and he got a lot of peppery sting right in his eyes.

With a loud yell, he jerked away from me, and I backed up as well watching as General stabbed the guy from behind.

With morbid fascination I watched as the now dead guy fell from the General's sword and onto the floor, lifeless. I almost felt like hurling again, but I seemed to be getting over some of the shock of seeing someone get killed in front of me. Which bothered me.

"What is that?" General asked looking at my can of pepper spray.

"Oh it's, herbs, or something, that stings your eyes really bad." I answered looking away from the dead bodies and clearing my throat which was now very dry.

The general looked at me for a moment, and he noticed my reaction to the dead people. He seemed to feel a little sympathy for me, but he didn't say anything about it.

"Come on! The fighting is getting louder!" Kash said. He started racing down the halls no longer caring if he was seen or heard. Ramses turned and took off after him, and I followed them both.

"Kiara you should go back to your room, it's dangerous out here right now." Kash said once he figured out I was still behind him.

I shuddered slightly thinking about what I would see if I went back to my room. "No way! My father taught me how to fight! Even if I can't use a sword, I refuse to sit somewhere like a damn baby and wait for rescue to come!" I shouted at him angrily.

"If you can't use a sword then you aren't much help here!" Kash retorted. Just then we came upon a group of people fighting. There seemed to be both guards of the palace and some attackers, and they were about even in strength.

Kash and Ramses jumped forward to help the guards while I stood back and watched carefully. I couldn't use a sword, so I needed to be careful how I fought here and not get in the way, but if they needed my help I would give it.

One of the guards stumbled and fell backwards endangering himself to his opponent. The attacker smirked with glee and brought his sword down to kill the now defenseless guard.

Letting myself follow my training, I jumped forward and came up to the side of the attacker so that I wasn't in his direct range. I used my legs to jump up hard and kick the guy directly in his ribs and send him barreling to the side before he even had a chance to see me beside him.

Feeling something coming at me from behind I dropped to the ground and turned to see that someone had indeed tried to cut my head off. I swiped his legs out from under him, and when he was down, one of the palace guards stabbed him through the chest.

I forced myself not to lose focus because of it, and dropping the sword since it was worthless to me, I stood up and looked around.

There seemed to be more attackers now. We were being pressed backwards, but thankfully towards the direction of the royal suites. I could have turned tail and run to check on the babies, but I didn't like the idea of running from a fight and leaving my semi-friends behind.

One of the attackers came at me then holding both a torch and a sword, startling me. I gasped loudly and held out the pepper spray to attack him before he could cut my head off.

It probably wasn't my smartest move, but it had nice results. Sort of.

I released a stream of pepper spray directly into the bad guy's face, and he shouted in sudden pain. He held his hand out to block his face from the spray, but it happened to be the hand with the torch in it.

He caught fire then.

With a gasp and realizing that that spray was catching on fire, a big fire, I threw the can away from me and towards the group of attacking bad guys.

The can burst into a semi-large fireball that engulfed a small part of the hallway, but thankfully didn't spread out much, and it was only most of the remaining bad guys that caught on fire. It was very easy then to cut them down.

I let the guards take that job as I tried not to gag from the smell of burnt flesh and the slight hint of pepper that hung in the air.

I pulled my Swiss army knife out and flicked open the blade to be ready again.

Kash and Ramses let the guards take care of the few remaining attackers, and the three of us started off down the halls again.

We ran fast already hearing another fight up ahead and seeing the light from the torches. Kash however had one question for me as we ran.

"Is that how you destroyed the oven in the kitchen?"

I puffed up my cheeks indignantly but didn't answer.

As we ran past another window, I stopped for a few seconds to look outside.

There was fighting out there too now. The guards on the walls must have realized that people were getting in somehow. There were quite a few skirmishes all over the grounds. From the height of the fourth floor where I was, and from the darkness outside, I couldn't tell which were the bad guys and who was on our side. It looked pretty even though.

I turned then and kept running trying to catch up with the others.

_Deiru, Korinna, please be okay. I'm coming, and I'll keep you safe. _I ran fast trying to get to the babies. They'd be scared now, and they'd need someone the help them. It was my only reason for being here, to keep these kids safe, and I would do everything humanly possible in order to achieve that goal. Even if they didn't really need me, I'd be there.

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**Lol so she blew up a can of pepperspray now. good thing no one on her side got hurt. also, isn't it cute how annoying Ramses and Kiara are finding each other? i think it's so funny. i'll update again soon, please review and tell me what u think. :)**


	31. A Royal Battle

comet ice fairy: I meant to reply to your review a long time ago, but I didn't and I'm sorry. I think I have a tiny bit of ADD in me. Anyway, you mentioned that purple/blue colors were rare and for royalty in those times, and you're right and I knew that, but Kiara is a 'goddess' of sorts so they let her wear a light shade of purple to show her rank. That's another one of those little explaining details that I forget to mention in my stories and I swear I'm working on it. Thanks for reminding me though.

**Please don't forget to review if you have time! It'll only take you like a minute to say if you like the story or not. I don't really want flames, but constructive critisim or praise would be nice thanks.**

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**31: A Royal Battle**

I caught up with Kash and General...oh crap; I forgot his name again. Maybe it's because he's just so annoying? Anyway we were right outside a large formal-like sitting room. Inside the room there was a lot of fighting.

_I hope they aren't attached to any of those big vases and wall-hangings. _I thought hearing the sounds of breaking pottery amid the shouts and screams of fighting. It was actually quite a bit of noise coming from what could only be 700 square feet of space. There were about three doors to this room, and the door opposite from me was filled with more bad guys who looked eager to get in and cause problems.

"What the hell? Is it a whole army in here?" I asked in disbelief. The weird thing was none of them looked all that foreign. Well they were foreign to me, but I was American. The point was all of the bad guys looked Hittite. But they were attacking their Hittite king...so this was a rebellion? Because of the famine maybe?

"This is an army." Kash said with a slight growl. "These are men from Nakia's guard." he said before rushing into the middle of the battle. Ramses had already disappeared into the fray, and after a second of deep breathing to try and calm down, I charged in as well.

The big question was what were Nakia's men doing here? Wasn't she banished? But I didn't have time to 'soul search' for the answer to that question right now. I had some butt to kick.

The few guards for the palace that were in here were rather outnumbered as more rebels—if that's what they were—continued to stream in from somewhere. But that didn't stop the guards from kicking some serious butt here, and after a few minutes I figured out why they were fighting so hard.

I gasped in shock and almost stopped to stare as I saw King right in the middle of the room with a bloody sword in his hand. His face was set in a determined scowl, and he easily and efficiently cut off attack after attack as well as bringing down many of his opponents.

"King!" I gasped in shock. I managed to fight my way closer to him. It was a little easy since I was smaller than about everyone here. I am almost evilly proud to say that I busted a lot of knee caps and used my Swiss knife on a lot of legs in order to get myself to the middle of the fight. And so far I only had a few scratches on me.

"Kiara?" King glanced at me with surprise. What? Had he never seen a crazy brunette with small shorts in the middle of a battle before. Haha.

"In the flesh. And surrounded by it." I noted with distaste. Someone swung towards me with a fist then. I easily pushed it away from my body and swung out in what was undoubtedly one of a my favorite attacks: a great big ole' roundhouse kick right to the sucker's head. Needless to say he was down for the count. Or at least for the next few hours.

"What are you doing here? It's too dangerous!" King said with a frown as he snapped an opponents sword in half and then proceeded to leave the now weapon-less man with no head as well. I flinched at the sight of the decapitated body, but I didn't let it distract me as I bent someone's arm backwards and then flipped them over using my shorter height and better leverage. The guy landed flat on his back and I kicked his gut so that he was in too much pain to get up and try to kill me again.

"Danger? I laugh in the face of danger, HAHAHA." I said loudly. He didn't recognize the cute movie line from 'The Lion King' but whatever.

"This doesn't have anything to do with you! Go back to your room where it's safe!" King said grabbing onto my arm with his spare hand and pulling me out of the way as a sword came swinging at me. He killed the man who had almost gotten me, and I turned to look at him. I used my knife to kill someone for the first time as I shoved it deep into someone's neck as they came up behind King to try and take him down.

See there? He saved me, I returned the favor. What a good girl I am.

"I was involved in this when they sent some people down to my room to kill me. If you think I'm just gonna back down from that and sit quiet then you're an idiot!" I snapped at him loudly before turning away to fight some more rebel people.

King didn't answer me, but I heard him fighting more people behind me.

I don't know how long it took. It seemed sometimes like everything was going so fast. At other times it was so slow, like time was slowing down to give me time to react and not get killed. But after however long it was, it seemed like the number of people we had to fight was decreasing. And the reason for that was probably because King and General seemed to be, 'decreasing', the bad guys. From the corner of my eyes I could see both King and General were really fantastic fighters, and they seemed to be fighting with absolute ease as they fought off the unexpected attack.

More of the palace people started to come through the doors now. That must have meant that there were less of Nakia's men outside. We must be winning then.

But what was going on here? If Nakia's men were attacking.... I knew she was bad. She had been one of those evil step-mother queens that you hear about from the fairy-tales. If her men were attacking did that mean she was trying to fight her way back into power?

She was supposed to have been smart. Really smart. One of those clever, cautious and somewhat cowardly people who covered all of their tracks and only did something when they were sure they would win. This was a good surprise attack, but the number of rebels—were they really rebels?—was decreasing rapidly. A really smart woman would have known that this attack couldn't have achieved much. Or was this just the beginning? Was she planning more for later?

The reason I had time to think on the complicated subject was that there really weren't any bad guys left for me to fight anymore. They were all being easily brought down by King, General, Kash and the other palace guards who seemed to have pretty good training what with the way they were fighting and all. After a little while longer, in which time I pretty much just watched since I wasn't needed, all of the former queen's guard were lying dead on the floor. And if they weren't dead, they were broken, bruised, bloody, or unconscious or any combination of the above.

_Go find the kids. They probably heard the noise. Deiru is probably scared, he was kidnapped just a few days ago; he probably hasn't completely forgotten it yet._ I told myself. I turned, ready to bolt out the door when I heard a loud snarl and a low mumbled curse behind me.

I turned back to see something I hadn't expected but probably should have. It was a war after-all, and she probably hadn't stayed in her room like a good little girl any more than I had. No doubt she had run to find her kids or her husband.

But someone else had found her.

A tall big beefy man was holding Yuri Ishtar in a tight head-lock. His arm was around her neck and a very large dagger was pointed directly at her chest ready to push in and kill her at any moment.

"_**Yuri**_!" King cried shocked and fearful as he saw his wife being held by the enemy.

_Oh shit._

The man holding the queen smirked, and I grimaced at the sight. He was an ugly big man. Hideous scars covered his entire face, and his smirk was lop-sided and revealed crooked yellow teeth. His breath was probably gonna kill Queen before the knife would.

"Well Your Highness," the man said mocking King. "What to do now? Now that I've got your little wife here?" he asked with a dark laugh. His vocabulary didn't seem too big. Maybe he didn't read much. Or maybe he was like those football jocks who never bothered to study because they didn't figure they had to do anything other than play football or whatever. Or maybe this guy was just plain stupid. Again, it might have been any combination of all of the above.

"What are you doing?" I asked loudly. I kept my voice pretty even, and it sounded like I was asking a kid why his hand was in the cookie jar.

The man shifted his gaze to me in surprise. I remembered that I was suppose to have been killed by the two idiots who were dead in my room.

"You're that new goddess; the weird one." he said blinking at me stupidly.

"My reputation proceeds me." I mumbled rolling my eyes. I was _always_ the weird one. Funny how _that_ didn't change even though the era I was living in had.

Kash and King both sent me looks that clearly meant: "Shut up." but I hadn't listened to them before. Why start now? That wasn't consistent. Haha.

"What's your name Romeo?" I asked; I mean he was _such_ a looker you know? Not.

"I am Dion, former lieutenant in the Queen's Personal Army." the man answered smirking a little wider which made me want to scrunch my face up at the ugly sight. Wow, this guy was just so...I give up. He wasn't even funny he looked so ugly right now.

"Oooooh. Lieutenant? Wow. Nice high rank." I said with a shrug.

"What are you doing with Yuri?" King spoke up sharply before I could say anything else. His voice sounded very strained. Understandable of course.

"This is your queen; the one you replaced Nakia for. Then you fired us, Nakia's guard. We haven't been able to get jobs, we don't have anything left. You stripped us of our ranks and lives. Now we do the same for you." the man said with venom in his voice as his eyes glared at the king, and his hand on the knife tightened.

Yuri was usually pretty strong. She was supposed to have been some great war hero herself. But she had given birth two days ago, and she wasn't fully recovered from that. It was the middle of the night, and she had been surprised, worried, and tired. Now it was all she could do to keep standing as this man held onto her and threatened her life.

I stared at Queen a little nervous myself. I didn't like death. Death was something that could never be undone. And I didn't think she deserved to die even if I didn't like her much. Plus her husband was obviously very in love with her, and her kids would miss her a lot as well. Plus I really just didn't like to see people dying. For any reason, much less a stupid murder over getting fired.

"Why don't we talk about it? Let her go and we can discuss things." King said almost pleading.

"Do you think I'm stupid! The minute I let her go you'll kill me! Besides, I don't wish to talk. I came here for revenge, and I am going to get it! Starting with this fake queen who displaced Nakia!" Dion practically scream as his hand tightened on the knife. His face was twisted with rage and hate, and he looked rather insane.

I moved my hand to my back and reached under my shirt to the hidden weapon at my waistband. Then while no one was watching, I brought out the weapon and raised it up in front of me.

He tightened his hold, ready to kill the poor woman who was helpless to get away.

"Don't move or your dead."

They all turned to look at me as I stared evenly at the almost-murderer.

My eyes were steely and clear with determination as I looked at him. My feet were planted firmly on the ground, shoulder's length apart. I held my arms out in front of me, strong and steady as I easily and firmly held a M9 pistol in both hands.

"That's a...." Yuri spoke for the first time as she recognized the item in my hands. She was the only one who would know about guns and what they could do.

"What the hell is that little thing?" Dion asked glaring at me and the object in my hands.

"This is the thing that will kill you unless you let her go right now." I answered steadily as I took careful aim and held steady.

"With that? What can that tiny little thing do? And when you're all the way over there!" he laughed at me.

"My father was in the military. This was the kind of weapon he used. He taught me how to use it too. Very well." I answered still keeping my eyes locked on my target as I waited to make a move.

I was scared out of my mind. I had never fired at someone before. Only deer or targets or empty metal cans. I had never actually shot someone before, and I was scared about doing it now.

But I couldn't let her die. Besides, I didn't even know her yet, and she was the only one who might be able to understand me at all. We came from the same place, sort of; I wasn't going to let her die.

The safety was off, my finger on the trigger, my target locked and in sight.

It was his turn to make a move.

"You don't scare me little girl. Not you, and not your toy." Dion laughed again.

"Put it away! Don't use that here!" Yuri shouted at me looking angry and a little scared. I wonder if she was scared I was gonna hit her. Or maybe she was afraid I was gonna screw up time by using a future weapon in the past, like in all those sci-fi movies.

"I know what I'm doing. And if he doesn't let go, he's not gonna be alive come this morning." I said evenly.

"Little bitch! You will be the one who is dead when the sun rises."

I was starting to get more and more uncomfortable with the weight of the gun in my hands. It wasn't all that heavy, I had used it a lot. I was really good with shot guns too, but this time I was aiming at a person.

Before when I had killed I wasn't planning it. It had happened; self-defense and reflexes. Now I was staring at someone planning to end their life.

In a court it would be called justifiable-homicide since he was threatening someone else.

Justifiable?

It was still murder.

"You have to the count of 10." I said trying not to let it show how nervous and shaky I was.

He grinned at me and laughed again to say that he wasn't scared of me.

"Kiara! Put it away!" Yuri shouted again. The others in the room didn't move. They didn't want to scare Dion into killing Yuri, but they also didn't want me doing anything stupid.

I heard king saying something to me—probably telling me to put the gun away and shut up, but I didn't look at him. He wasn't _my_ king anyway.

"One." I said starting the countdown. Suddenly I wasn't so afraid. I couldn't be. Now was not the time to be afraid. Now was the time to trust what daddy taught me, and to trust the morals he had taught me as well. And those morals were telling me not to let Yuri die, if I had the chance to save her.

Dion tightened his grip on the knife and didn't back down. There was a tiny bit of fear in his eyes now. I was a goddess. I was supposed to be dead. I had saved the prince twice and also saved lots of other lives at the docks. Perhaps there was a reason to be afraid of me. I could see all of those thoughts going on inside his little head.

"Two."

He tightened his hold on Yuri, and I saw the flicker of madness in his eyes.

If he was going to go down, he wanted to bring her with him; he wanted his revenge on King even if he died for it.

"Three."

I saw the muscles in his arm twitch, but I already known what he was going to do.

I pulled the trigger, before he could cut her throat.

_**BAM**_!

The shot hit him before he had the chance to kill his hostage.

His arms fell away from Yuri as his body flew back from the force of the shot.

He was dead long before he hit the floor.

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**A/N:** ok, so the gun is the big thing I want to clarify on: a M9 pistol is from what I can tell, the type of gun you see the police/army/etc use on TV. i know nothing about guns, so I had to look it up on Wikipedia. but basically the M9 is used in the Marines and lots of other departments, so that's why he dad knew how to use one and could teach her. now if anyone starts to ask me about guns or starts to think I'm some sort of violent person who waves guns around then don't worry; I don't like guns but it fits the story.


	32. Who Has Got A Scar?

**got some fun review this week. thanks to LightWithin, Queen of everything pinapple, unknown, Kiriyuu69, and Emmy for the reviews!!**

i would like to say to unknown that I did know about the differences of Ishtar and that fact that she was a Babylonian goddess, but as Emmy pointed out and as I also knew most of the gods and their myths were mixed up and varied depending on what country or even town you were in. the people liked to have their own stories and they made them up very well and just like with rumors in a high school, the more the stories traveled, the bigger and more different they became. so the mangaka can't really be blamed that much for taking a few liberties with Ishtar. besides, it is a fantasy story right? wheres the fun if everything was point-blank truthful? ;D

on another note, I looked up lots of goddess before creating this story and Kiara and whether she is Baset or someone else...well you'll find out soon. but I will say that you made a very good guess. you'll see why later.

**so thanks to the reviewers! please keep reviewing if you can. and thanks for reading!**

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**32: Who Has Got A Scar?**

Once the dead guy hit the floor, King rushed forward and pulled Yuri into his arms tightly. Then he, she and everyone else in the room stared at either me or the dead man.

Keeping my face perfectly expressionless, I lowered my arms and the gun while still looking at the body.

"You could have hit me!" Yuri practically screeched at me. I guess she didn't like being in the range of gun-fire very much. "What happened to counting to ten!?"

"I know how to aim." I told her still without any emotions. "And I rounded up." I took a few steps forward and brought myself closer to the only body with a bullet-hole within 2,000 years of here.

A perfect shot; right in the center of his forehead. A perfect kill.

I wondered if I was in shock? I couldn't seem to feel anything. I was just...numb. I wasn't scared anymore, I hadn't been since I'd started the countdown and I had realized I really would have to shoot him. I wasn't scared, I just....

"What was that?" King asked me sharply. There was a hole in the man's head, but all they had heard or seen was a loud bang and then the guy had gone down dead.

"It's something from my world. People use them all the time. Instead of swords." I answered still looking at Dion. His eyes were open, glazed and had shock in them. He'd heard the sound of the gun two seconds before he was gone.

"Why do you have it here!? We searched your bag! You didn't have any weapons!" Yuri was still sounding really upset. She was from Tokyo or something right? That was a big city. Maybe she'd had bad experience with guns before; like she'd seen a robbery or something. Or maybe she had never seen a gun before, and it was really freaking her out. Or perhaps, it was just a bad night for her. Why would that be I wonder?

"My father taught me to shoot. He had a gun; I took it with me. Have a license and everything. If you didn't find it in my bag then you didn't look hard enough." I mentioned dryly. Actually, the gun was my father's. It had been licensed under his name but when he died I got myself emancipated so that I was legally an adult and then I put the gun under my own name. I took the gun with me on my world tour for obvious reasons; the world wasn't safe. But also for sentimental reasons. It was my father's. One of the few things that was like a connection to us.

It might seem kinda....morbid that a gun was a connection for me and him, but he taught me how to use it so I would always be safe and I would always have a way to protect myself and the people I cared about. He had been looking out for me when he taught me to use the thing. And the hours of us working together and practicing with it had been really bonding as well.

"But why do you have it!?" Yuri asked seeming to really not like idea of my having a gun here.

I didn't answer her. I was looking at Dion's arm and feeling like some detective from an old movie or something.

His arm was smooth.

Call me crazy, but I didn't think some _lackey_ would have been allowed to deal with the prince's kidnapping a few days ago. That was a job for the big boss man. I had thought that that man would be Dion since he had gone after Yuri who would be one of the main targets here.

But not the only target.

There was no scar on Dion's arm. The kidnapper who had attacked me had had a big scar on his arm.

Dion wasn't the kidnapper. Someone else was.

And they might be here again, trying again.

I stood up and ran fast. I had to get to Deiru. He could be in trouble.

I heard people yelling at me as I left the sitting room, but the hallways were mostly clear on my way to the nursery. All of the people had gone to the fighting that was elsewhere. It was a perfect decoy for someone else to sneak around and attack the defenseless babies.

_They have a guard. They have a guard. _I told myself desperately as I ran.

But this guy was probably really good at this. He was the leader after all. There were maybe three-five guards to protect the babies at night in this palace. How hard would it be to kill five surprised men?

_You don't even know if there is another leader! Maybe if there was, he's already dead somewhere! _My head argued with me trying to make me use some logic so that I would stop feeling so panicked.

Instinct told me to keep running to ignore that smart, logic using voice in my head. It told me to get to the kids and try to help them. I was scared for them; must be that maternal streak that women have. Perfect time for it to kick in I guess.

I got to the nursery in record time I think; the empty hallways and my fear had made me practically fly as I streaked through hoping to get to the kids and make sure they were safe.

I made the turn into the nursery hallway leaning hard to the side so I could get through without having to slow down or slam into the opposite wall. I ran to doors of the nursery and flung them open.

The man looked up me from his crouched position. The dagger was in his hands and so far it wasn't red with blood.

He was taller than me, and very muscular. Muscular in an almost steroids type way. On his right arm—the arm and hand that had the knife—there was a large long ropey scar.

There were seven other bodies on the floor. The guards that had been there to protect Deiru. They probably hadn't lasted very long.

On the floor in front of the man, cowering in the corner was Deiru. The poor kid was trembling in obvious fear, and he whimpered softly.

Hate rolled though me as I saw the man who had tried, and was again trying, to hurt someone who was so young and so innocent. I swung my arms up and locked the gun firmly in place.

He ran towards me quickly as I pulled the trigger.

Click.

_Holy shit._ I thought stunned as the gun jammed in my hands refusing to fire a bullet. I didn't have time to think up anything more eloquent or refined; the next moment I was off of my feet and slamming onto the floor flat on my back as the man's punch smacked into my jaw.

I shivered as I felt the cold of the floor on my skin. The pain racking through my face and back was pretty fierce. I hadn't felt a shock like that for...two days. Wow, maybe I was starting a new trend here.

Oh gosh I hoped not.

I struggled to lift myself off of the floor and turn onto my side. The man must have decided that I wasn't a threat anymore cause he had turned back to Deiru.

I had never felt a punch like that. Undoubtedly Daddy would have been able to hit that hard, but I was his _daughter_, and he had never _ever_ hit me. He had trained me, which did involve some punches and such I suppose, but he had never _hit_ me. And the people I had fought since then had either been boys who didn't want to punch a girl too hard, or girls who didn't have that kind of muscle.

But this guy, this guy was a freaking rhino.

The cold of the stone floor was numbing my muscles which helped with the pain, but I felt goosebumps on my arms and legs since I was only wearing shorts and a t-shirt. My hair was falling in my face as I looked up at the guy with a knife and scar.

He was standing directly over the kid now, he wouldn't hesitate to kill the little boy either.

_Move dammit!_

I forced myself to launch to my feet and rush towards the killer. I got there just as he was bending to strike. I jumped up and kicked the guy hard in his side, but his reflexes were good, and he grabbed hold of my leg as my foot connected with his side. He held onto me as my kick pushed him to fall off balance.

We fell together.

_Oh gosh that hurts. _I moaned internally as I hit the floor with a bounce for the second time in about three minutes. The impact of hitting the floor made the guy let go of my foot, so for the moment, I was free of him. In the next moment though I was rolling quickly to the side as the man aimed his knife at where I had just been.

"Damn bitch!" he snarled loudly. Why was he so mad? I mean I had only wrecked his plans twice, maybe three times. What the hell was he so upset for?

I jumped to my feet and ran from the room; he followed after me barely a yard behind me.

_Well, he's not after Deiru right now._ I thought as I grabbed hold of a wall corner and threw myself around the turn. I guess he was pretty mad at me cause he kept chasing me as I ran. Guess he wanted to make sure I couldn't get in his way anymore.

Damn meddling teenagers huh?

I really wish I had a great big dog to help me out right now, or rather, how about a big freaking army?

That's when I had to jump to the side again to avoid a slash from his knife.

I turned to the opposite side and ran down a different hallway.

_Oh shit, he's herding me! _I thought with my fear rising. The way he was attacking was making it so that I had to run in the opposite direction of the king and his army.

Why let him determine the direction of our late-night run you might ask? Well it was either jump to the side and avoid his knife, or get dead.

I wasn't ready to be dead yet so I kept running. At some point I would get an advantage again.

Wouldn't I?

I just had to stay alive until then.

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another cliffhanger. XD haha. till next week then. maybe sooner? who knows.

**A/N: **whether Tennesee would have allowed Kiara to get a gun lisence as an emancipated minor or not i don't really know. in theory it seems like it could work either way but I don't live in Tennesse and I don't know about the gun laws so I really don't know. if you think I made a mistake go ahead and tell me but just don't be mean about it. it doesn't matter that much though so don't worry about it too much.


	33. Running For My Life

so this is a day or two late. not to bad. i was..confused? no, befuddled when i wrote this chapter. it might show a little. anyway i've gotten busier now so writing isn't on the top of the list. enjoy the chapter please review!! :) thanks to those of u who do review i really love it.

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**33: Running For My Life**

I was running for my life. I had never done that before. You know, since I came to the B.C. times here, I had done a lot of things I had never had to do before. Such as running for my life, jumping onto burning ships, making baby princes take their naps, and the incredibly obvious, killing someone.

"No place like home. There's no place like home, no place like home!" I mumbled as I ran through the halls. _Ah! Someone help me! _I prayed desperately.

The guy with the scar was still right behind me with his knife, and as hard as I tried I couldn't get to anywhere where there might be people to help me. This guy was leading me around like a dog herding sheep. I couldn't get away from him without him being in the way ready to kill me.

Seriously! What the hell was this guys problem! I was a cute adorable teenage girl and he seemed to think I was the devil! He wanted to exorcise me or something! You should hear all of the cussing going on behind me, it was foul. Was this guy a sailor maybe?

I might have been screaming, calling out an S.O.S. for help, but what if the wrong people came? What if the bad people came to help kill me? I couldn't take that chance. Hopefully King would have gone to the nursery to find his kids. If he had done that maybe Deiru would have told him in baby talk what happened, and that I was running from a psycho. At the very least they should find the gun. When the guy punched me in the jaw I had dropped the uselessly jammed thing.

What kind of man hits a girl like that? I wasn't a freaking beautiful model or anything, but I'm still a cute girl! How dare he hit me like that?

I know, how sexist of me. But that had really freaking hurt, and I didn't think it was at all called for. Stupid macho jerk.

_Oh shit. _I thought for possibly the 1 millionth time as I saw a servants door that lead to the gardens. What if this guy had more buddies out there? Was that why he had lead me this way? To lead me into a trap?

I burst through the door and threw it shut behind me. It wouldn't really delay him, but I wasn't gonna leave it open for him like in invitation or something. I took off again and of course, two seconds later I could hear him huffing and puffing behind me. The only reason this guy hadn't caught me yet was because I had enough stamina to keep my running pace for a while. And the adrenaline from knowing I was gonna get dead if I stopped was also helping me to keep a nice fast pace.

The garden was clear of fighting from the last time I had looked at it. There were dead bodies on the ground, and it was slippery with blood. If I had let myself think about that, I might have thrown up again. But I concentrated on running. The fight here was over, and whoever had survived had already left probably to go find the rest of the fighters.

_Where are the gate guards? Why aren't they out here? _I was thinking with too much optimism. Very likely the gate guards had been the first to be attacked. But if they were alive, they should be here somewhere. It's their job to stand by the wall no matter what right?

Finally I spotted two men up on the wall. They were wearing the tunics of the guards here.

That meant two things: One, the palace guards had won the fight and kept their positions. Two, someone on my side—or at least the side I was on—knew where I was running and why.

Either that or some of the bad guys were up there wearing stolen clothes and only pretending to be guards who belonged there.

_Gee, way to think positive Kiara. _I jumped forward with a yelp as the knife sliced at my back. I fell forward over the grass and did a tuck-and-roll. Once right-side up again, I launched to my feet and ran this time going a little faster.

_I think I'm bleeding._ I resisted the urge to stop and check myself or to even turn and glance back as I ran. I needed to keep focused. Things had hurt a lot worse than the little scratch on my back before. Hell, a mean old cat at home had given me pretty damn bad scratches once. This wasn't so different.

At least, that's what I convinced myself of. In the back of my mind though, I knew that the scratch had to be a little serious otherwise I wouldn't have felt the blood drip from my back to the back of my legs as I ran.

I think I heard the guards up on the wall shout. What they were shouting I didn't know. I was out of good hearing range, and I wasn't paying super attention to it anyway. I was paying attention to the ground in front of me and trying not to fall and somehow get killed. I considered grabbing one of the swords from the dead soldiers, but I didn't think I could use it well enough to waste the time of stopping to get it.

One of the side gates in the walls was busted open. There were a few bodies around it. It must have been how the bad guys had gotten into the palace.

And it was how I would get out.

I veered sharply to the left and burst out through the gate. Jumping over the bodies and body parts—so gross—I ran fast out of the palace area and into the open streets of the town.

For the first time then I noticed that Byblos was on fire. It was surrounded by a bright orange glow and the night was a lot hotter than usual. The glow of the fire illuminated the place and made it easier to see. But the screams of terror-stricken people could easily be heard now that I was listening.

_It's been a really bad week for Byblos. _I though biting my bottom lip. I had to release the lip though since I needed to pant for air now. The fire must have been another distraction. The top-bad guy—whom I figured was behind me—must have had a thing for destroying things and causing misery. Or maybe he was just a firebug.

"Slow down wench!" 'Guy with a Scar' shouted from behind me. Wow, he had taken time out of cursing to tell me that? It must mean a lot to him, and he must really want me to listen to him.

"Come and catch me fatso!" I screamed back at him. Well if he was gonna call me a wench and bitch and ever other word he had used to describe me then I wasn't gonna play nice too. Nope, I would be petty and make him run nice and fast if he wanted to catch and kill me.

This was really such a fun game. What was it? Tag? More like the Tag game from the first 'Ice Age' movie. Where the tigers and the deer played tag, with their _teeth_. Ouch. But that was a fun movie.

_This_ game was really starting to wear me down though.

He slashed at me again. And this time I _really_ felt in my back.

With a loud scream I jumped forward away from the blade what was ripping through my skin. The cut seemed to be somewhat shallow, but it was long and jagged.

"Asshole!" I shrieked through gritted teeth. I turned sharply again and grabbed some low scaffolding of sorts. Taking hold of the wood and trying to block out the now doubled pain in my back I swung myself up onto the structure. Someone seemed to have been making repairs to the side of their little house, but I was just grateful for the chance to try and get away.

I had hoped that 'Mister Mouth of a Drunk Sailor' wouldn't be able to climb up behind me, but unfortunately he was able to come up the scaffolding as well. Too bad it didn't crush underneath his weight.

I got to the roof of the two-story house and looked around for a means of escape. Then I turned back to the guy following me with intent to kill. He was halfway up the scaffolding.

I put my hands on the structure that was leashed to the building and pushed as hard as I could hoping it would go crashing to the ground. It wouldn't move and stayed firmly attached.

_Damn this is just like a horror movie. And you're _never_ supposed to go _up_ in a horror movie._ I thought looking around the rooftop desperately. This roof top was separated from the others meaning I couldn't jump onto other houses, but it wasn't on fire. Thank any and all gods for that.

There was a short piece of thick wood over there. I ran and grabbed it. If I could swing a bat, I could swing this thing. I ran back to the scaffolding. He was just about to get into range for me to knock him good over the head when something streaked past my face with a whistling sound.

With a muffled scream I fell back onto my butt. I put my hand to my face and felt the blood from the cut on my face. He had thrown the knife at me. It had grazed me, from my right cheek up past my forehead.

_That damn well better not leave a scar! _I thought feeling a little pissed off.

My falling back from his little knife throw had given the guy the time he needed to finish climbing the scaffolding and get onto the roof with me. We were now both on the top of a two story building by ourselves.

_His knife is gone, and I have a wooden stick. That should even things up. At least it would if he wasn't freaking Godzilla over there! What kind of steroids do they have in the B.C. ages to make you look like that!?_

He was scowling at me, and I was watching him carefully. We were circling each other in a ring; how classic.

Then he lunged at me. I side stepped and swung with the piece of wood. It made a solid 'Th-whack!' sound on the back of his head, but he didn't even look fazed as he turned around to glared at me again. I quickly back-stepped to regain our circle of distance.

_Size can be a big factor if you aren't careful. Keep your distance until you get the advantage, don't let yourself get trapped._

I let the lessons I had learned flow through my mind. I didn't want to lose this fight. This was more than getting grounded for acting stupid; this was dying as a punishment for making the wrong step.

He ran at me again, and again I danced around him. I was smaller, more nimble and flexible than he was. That was an advantage, but he was pretty quick, so I didn't have that much advantage.

_Always remember the soft spots on a person. There are a lot of places where you only need to use a little pressure, but you can do a lot of damage._

He came barreling at me again and this time I ducked under his fist and rolled away from under I rolled away from under the big guy I swung up hard with my fist right into the fleshy part of his stomach.

Well it was _supposed_ to be the fleshy soft part of his stomach. Does this guy have no baby fat? Is he only muscle and rock?

Well my hit did make him grunt and shift in pain, but my knuckles were pretty sore now too. He swung at me, and I ducked then swung hard at him. He twisted to the side and grabbed my arm. He pulled me towards himself probably wanting to crush me in his arms. I twisted to the side and planted my feet firmly. Then switching so that his hold on my arm turned to _my_ hold on his arm, I pushed my hip into his side to knock him off balance, and then I flung him over my back and onto the ground.

He hit the ground with a grunt and grabbed my ankle and pulled hard on it. I fell, but made sure to kick him in the face as I went.

I managed to get to my feet, but the pain in my body was making itself more known. I stepped back as he stood up as well. I wasn't sure how many more hits I could take from this guy before I would be unable to get up anymore. I was strong, I was tough, but I've already been up for a while tonight taking and giving hits. I wondered how long it had been since I'd woken up to the two creeps in my room. And I still had a few bruises from the incident at the docks. All in all I probably wasn't in my best shape right now. But I doubted this guy would take a rain-check for this little fight to the death here.

He charged me again, and I avoided him. We danced around like that for a few minutes, him charging, me running; I was hoping that he would get a little tired so that I could have a better chance. I was also looking for some weakness in him. Did he run with a limp? Did he had a weak spot somewhere?

I didn't see anything useful, and there wasn't much space to run on up here on this roof.

_Damn, come on people where are you? _I resisted the urge to turn and look at the streets to see if anyone was coming for me, I didn't think it would be good to take my eyes off of the Hulk here. But those guards had seen me right? They would know I was out here, and they'd send someone for me wouldn't they? I hope so.

"Stay still bitch!" he snarled loudly as he threw a punch at me. I was standing right in front of the stone railing around the roof. When he punched for me, I dodged again and his fist hit the stone behind me very hard.

He shouted loudly in pain and clutched his now injured hand to his chest with his uninjured hand.

An opening! I ran forward and aimed a roundhouse kick right at his head.

I got the shock of my life when his 'injured' hand shot out and gripped my ankle in a vise-like grip. My kick was forced to a stop, and I gasped with pain and surprise. He just smirked at me.

He had been faking! It was one of the oldest tricks in the book, and I had fallen for it!

"Got you now." he chuckled darkly. I stood there with on one leg because my other ankle was still in his very tight grip. I could have tried to punch him, but I was having a hard time keeping my balance and I didn't honestly think my little fists would hurt him much. He was so buff it would be like a punching a brick wall really, and I didn't need to break my hand right now.

With a evil smirk his other hand grasped the knee of the leg he had caught and with both hands holding tight, he twisted and threw me around. I couldn't stop the hoarse scream that came from my throat as I connected sharply with the raised ledge on the roof.

His hands left my leg to clench tightly around my throat.

"This is the end for you bitch. You should have never gotten in my way little girl." his fingers tightened around my throat, and I inhaled a big breath in shock and pain. I put my hands on his wrists in a vain effort to pull him off of me, but it was useless.

I was going to die. He was going to choke me slowly because I had twice saved an innocent little boy from death.

He called me a little girl. I hated being talked to like a kid or a stupid weak girl.

Once again determined to show the idiot that I was not just a little girl, and _not_ really ready to die yet, I struggled to find a way out of the danger I was now in. I tried to pry his hands off of my throat, but that wasn't working. At least I should be grateful that he was being sadistic. He could have very easily choked me in three seconds or simply broken my neck, but he seemed to want to watch me die slowly.

Evil bastard.

I let go of his wrists with one of my hands and reached up quickly. I poked him hard right in the eye, and then immediately after punched him hard in his neck.

Howling in pain and rage one of his hands left my neck to clutch as his burning eye. Using the now loosened grip that he had on me I planted my hands firmly on the ground underneath me, then using my knees and feet, I kicked the guy very hard in his stomach. My leverage point on the ground made it easier to lift him off of the ground throw him over my head.

We were at the edge of the roof which meant that he was falling over the wall now. He managed to hook one of his hands onto the wall's ledge though so that he was merely dangling over the side. I stood up wanting to get away from him, and get back to the palace.

I thought I heard someone scream my name as I felt a large hand grab the back of my t-shirt.

I was hauled back. He was trying to drag me over the edge as well. It was only a two story drop, I wouldn't die from the fall, but neither would he, and who says he wouldn't be able to get up and kill me if I broke my leg or something?

I jabbed back with both elbows to break the hold that he had on my shirt. His grip on me was broken, and he lost his hold on the all as well. He fell.

The damage was done though; he had already pulled me to the edge, and I fell off as well.

For two seconds I felt air rushing around me, then my back hit something that was sort of soft. Then I crashed into something else that was very hard.

I saw black and I didn't feel anything else.

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**oh no! what will happen? lol sorry guys another cliffy for u. but since the fighting is over soon there will be less cliffys. :) i'll be updating soon! please review.**


	34. Waiting

I. Am. Horrible.  
Sorry sorry sorry!!!! I didn't mean to go for two weeks without updating! and to leave you on a Cliffhanger for that long too! Sorry! But I had a computer virus for a day so I couldn't write then, and I didn't have much inspiration so I didn't really feel like writing, and the chapter was feeling weird and stilted. Then I had to leave the state for a week so I couldn't write then either. It was a freakin busy week. I got so tired, but I'm alive and awake now. lol. but things do promise to be busy again for a while so I might be late in updating again a few times. Sorry, hopefully never for two weeks again though.  
So I completely rewrote this chapter. It works a little better this way but I'm still not sure about it. Anyway, reviews help a lot when I'm trying to write so send me some peoples!! XD  
Again sorry for the late update, I'll try and upload another chapter this week. I've already started on it. :)

unknown: I hope you didn't think I was being rude when I was talking about the gods and everything before. I wasn't trying to be, I was just saying you know? Lol, I don't think your a brat and I was glad for your opinion. Thanks for the nice reviews. :)

PS to my readers, um....yeah this story is probably gonna be really long. Sorry. I won't be surprised if I get to 100 chapters or something. Big drama twists upahead. So if anyone doesn't want to read a long story or want to wait a long time to see the end, then I'm sorry. This isn't for you. ;P

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**34: Waiting**

"Lay her down here."

Carefully, two men placed the small body of a girl gently onto a plain bed. Once she was laid out they moved out of the way as two physicians moved forward. The two healers carefully looked over the various injuries along the person's body. In the background a few people waited for what the physicians would say.

The healers mumbled with each other for a moment, pointing out various things to one another before they consulted. Then one of them went to address the people waiting while the other opened a large bag and began to shuffle through it.

"She's been hit very hard. A few scratches and some nasty cuts on her back, a few of her ribs might be broken, and her ankle has been bruised badly. And I believe the fall may have caused a concussion to her head." the healer said softly.

"Will she be alright?" Yuri asked looking over at the girl on the bed sadly.

The healer gave a small shake of his head. "We can't tell yet. Its possible that infection will have set into her cuts, and I think she hit her head fairly hard. Whether she survives or not is unclear. But we will try."

Kail nodded in acknowledgment, and the doctor quickly turned and went back to the side of the bed. An older woman came to ask Kail and the others to leave the room so that the healers could continue their work in privacy.

Ramses was the last to leave the room. He glanced back at the woman on the bed with a stone expression, then he walked out and allowed the door to be shut behind him.

"Alright Kiara, let's see if the gods are with you tonight." one of the healers mumbled as he, the other healer and their assistant began their work.

Kiara didn't answer. She laid limp and still on the bed remaining unconscious as the doctors worked to save her.

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"_KIARA!" Yuri screamed loudly. They had found Deiru alone in his room. The gun had been on the floor and the guards were all dead. Korinna's nurse had been found; she had been able to escape with the baby princess safely, but had been unable to help the baby prince. A sentry had come to Kail and told him that Kiara had been seen running into the town with someone chasing her._

_Kail had decided to go after Kiara himself, and Yuri had demanded to go as well. Kash, Mettannamuwa, Ramses and a few other guards had come along too._

_They had gone out into the city on horseback trying to find Kiara and whoever had been chasing her. They had soon seen Kiara and someone else on-top of a two-story house. Kiara at the time, had been backed up against the ledge of the roof, and it looked like the man was choking her._

_Then unexpectedly, the man hadn't been choking Kiara; he had been flying over the edge of the roof towards the ground. He hadn't fallen right away since he had managed to grab hold of the roof for support. He'd attempted to drag Kiara off of the roof then, but he had ended up falling._

_Kiara had fallen too._

_The group has pushed forward to the ground around the house. Yuri had gasped loudly when they saw the body of the man;_

_He had been very unlucky when he had fallen off of the roof. The two story drop might not have been enough to kill him, but he had fallen into very large water jug. The jug had shattered when he had landed on it, and one of the pieces had acted as a spear and had struck through the man's stomach killing him._

"_Kiara?!" Yuri had called looking around for the weird girl that had fallen._

"_Here!" Kash called back. Yuri and the others had run to where he had been standing. There had been a pile of hay outside the house, probably meant for the horses of the house's occupants. The hay had collapsed though, and Kash had pushed most of it to the side to look underneath it._

_Kiara was lying there on the ground. She had fallen onto the hay pile, and then onto the ground beside it. The hay had collapsed on top of her nearly suffocating her._

"_Is she...?" Yuri asked softly. Ramses leaned knelt by the woman on the ground and placed his fingers along her neck._

"_She's alive." he said simply. He placed his hands under her carefully and began to lift her from the ground. Kash leaned down to help lift her up as well._

_They carried her over to the horses. Since Ramses had the better grip on her body, he was the one who got to hold her as they rode back towards the palace. They didn't want to move her too much if they could help it._

_Just before they started riding back for the palace. Kiara shifted slightly in Ramses's arms. She opened her eyes slowly and looked up at him._

"_General?" she whispered questioningly. He didn't answer her; just looked at her silently. But she could see his eyes; those strangely hypnotic eyes; she knew it was him._

"_I forgot your name again." she mumbled quietly. Then she fell back into unconsciousness. He felt like laughing. And he also felt like glaring at her._

Weird woman._ He thought as he started his horse and they rode quickly, but carefully back to the palace._

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"Do you think she'll be alright?" Yuri was looking at Kail hopefully, but at the same time she seemed resigned to the fact that there was only so much that the doctors of this time could do.

The three sisters had joined the rest of the group, and the lot of them were standing in the hallway outside the room where Kiara was currently being treated.

Kail looked down at Yuri, but he didn't know what to say to her. People had died from lesser injuries than that before, and it didn't look good. Yuri took his silence as an answer to her question.

Kiara probably wouldn't make it. If they had IVs and x-rays and the other modern medicines, then Kiara probably would have been fine. But in this time, they only had different herbal medicines, and the surgeons could only do so much.

"The only thing to do now is wait." Ilvani said with a glance at the door.

Kail nodded in agreement then he turned around and looked at the others in the room. His gaze hardened, and he spoke a little more harshly. "I am surprised to see you tonight."

Ramses glared back at him evenly. He did not need to explain himself to the Hittite king.

"Not only did you help fight, but you went after Kiara as well. How strange for you." Kail said staring hard at the Egyptian.

Ramses shrugged and began to walk down the long hallway. "It was something to do for a while. Besides, that weird woman causes interesting things to happen. How nice of me to spend my time helping such an annoying woman."

And then he turned down the hall and was gone.

"He said something like that when we first met too." Yuri mused aloud after the general had left. She didn't everything about that time, but she did remember that Ramses had grumbled over and over at helping a 'skinny girl'. She think she heard him mention something about wanting to spend time with beautiful women instead.

To think so much had happened since then and how much they had all changed. They had all changed their opinions of each other. Ramses and Kail had come to hate each other. Yuri had seen that the grumbling Egyptian who grudgingly helped her was in fact a very strong good man, and Ramses had developed feelings for her.

She felt bad that she had caused more heartache, but there was nothing she could do about it. She loved Kail with her whole heart and soul and nothing would change that. She only hoped that Ramses could find the happiness she thought he deserved. That is, if he and Kail did not kill each other first.

She shuddered at the thought of the two of them hurting each other again. Then she turned back to the door of the room where Kiara was.

They hadn't given the American much of a chance had they? They had judged her and put up a wall to keep her out. And now look what had happened. Kiara could be dying. Yuri had never even really talked to her. She wished now that she had. She wished that she had tried to be more open and less cautious. She wished that they had tried to understand each other more. After all, Kiara wasn't too different from herself. They had both been brought suddenly to this strange place where they didn't know a single person and where everything was so alien.

Kail had helped Yuri. He had saved her from Nakia and they had been able to find happiness and love together, but who had helped Kiara?

_I'm so sorry. Please be ok. Please don't die. _Yuri thought helplessly.

* * *

_The gods continue to play their games. _Ramses reflected as he sat on the low-backed couch in his room.

The image of that woman, Kiara, lying face down in the hay replayed in his mind. Her eyes had been closed and her hands clenched. She was in pain, but she didn't show it too openly.

It had not been the first time that he had seen something like that. He had instantly remembered a similar meeting when he had seen Kiara on the ground.

_She looked like Yuri did. When I found her in the desert years ago. _He remembered seeing Yuri then. Seeing the desperation and determination in her eyes as she begged him to help her. Seen how she fought so hard to do what she had to do, even when she was so injured and in so much pain.

He sighed. The reason he had left his room tonight was to see if fresh air could help him clear his head. Being in the same palace as Yuri had proved to be more troublesome that he had hoped. His thoughts were filled with her, and he hadn't been able to sleep. He may have let her leave; he had let her live her life with Mursili since it made her happy. But even though he had let her leave him, he hadn't really let go of her yet. She was always on his mind, always in his thoughts.

He loved her. He wanted her.

But she belonged to someone else.

He gave a humorless chuckle and then sighed.

In Kiara he saw Yuri.

_She truly is an annoying woman. To be another reminder of what I want to forget._

They were similar. They were the same height and neither was truly beautiful. They both spoke strangely, although Kiara was far more strange than Yuri.

They both fought hard as well. They both seemed to push hard in order to achieve their goals. They both had a bright fire in their eyes. But their eyes were different. Even in Kiara's strange rare blue eyes, he saw Yuri's deep black eyes.

That woman was annoying. She talked strangely, she acted strangely, she seemed to think that she should be more important than she was. She always forgot his name which meant she was probably stupid. How many times had he told her who he was only for her to forget a minute later?

And she was too alike to Yuri. That annoyed him more than anything else.

But he didn't want her to die. She was annoying, but that didn't mean she should die.

He remembered her anger when Ilvani had made her seem like a worthless body-guard. She had been enraged when she had been put down so low.

Ramses wondered if maybe she was more important and greater than she let on. If she didn't die, he might want to find out.

But she was so much like Yuri. He probably wouldn't want to be around her much.

The image of Yuri's body lying in the desert with an arrow in her back came to his mind again.

It was pushed aside by the memory of Kiara's blue eyes as they shined with fire and exhaustion just after she had saved so many lives on the docks.

It had been a long night. And a hard one. He hoped he never had to repeat such a thing again.

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More cliffs I know. :) I'll try to upload again this week. The next chapter won't be so hard to write. Review please!!


	35. Falling Inside The Black

Here's that other update I promised you! Thanks for all the nice reviews! I Love them! Keep it coming! ;) Lol. But really, a big thanks to:

unknown, Dana, Devonlizz, lightwithin, and Kiriyuu69 for your nice reviews! Those made my day.

I know you want something happy for Ramses, but I've got a plot-line going here and I'm sorry but He's not going to be happy for a while. We've got drama to get through first. Speaking of which, there wasn't much Kiara in the last chapter. She was what that chapter was about but there wasn't any of _her_. Most of this chapter is her though. It's all in her head. Lol. Except the last bit. Enjoy! Keep reviewing please!

**Also: disclaimer!!!!! **I do NOT own Skillet or ''Falling In the Black'' I just used it here for my own dramatic enjoyment. ;p

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**35: Falling Inside the Black**

There was flashing. And spinning. And confusion, and terror, and fear and hate. And grief. Her entire existence felt full of grief.

She couldn't see anything. Just the flashing. And the spinning. And all she could feel was the confusion, terror, grief, hate, and fear. It was everywhere; surrounding her. Pulling her down and smothering her with it's tight hard grip.

The flashing was memories. The spinning was the memories shifting in and out of focus. Back and forth in the time line of her mind. The feelings were invoked by the memories. She couldn't make any of it stop.

In a strange way though, she was glad for the horrible memories that were spinning so quickly in and out of her mind leaving nothing but the feeling of their grief and terror behind them. If the memories hadn't been there then there would have been nothing. Without the memories she was all alone. Locked in a world of empty terrifying darkness. It was lonely here in the darkness that surrounded her and her memories. She was afraid to be lonely. She could be alone, because being lonely and being alone were not the same thing. She did not mind being alone, but she feared being so lonely with only the blackness around her.

_Tonight I'm so alone,_

_This sorrow takes a hold,_

_Don't leave me,_

_It's so cold..._

_Never want to be so cold._

More memories haunted her. Taunted her with the faint feelings of being loved and cared for. Memories of her father who had always loved her shifted through her focus. He was firm and strong. He was a rock that she could lean against. A great big strong rock that was always there to anchor her. The memories of him were all tainted. Thinking of him was thinking of the past. Knowing that in the future he could never be there. He could never help her anymore. He was gone forever. Nothing could bring him back. He had always been there before. Even though he was usually so far away, he had always found the time to make sure she was fine; to protect and provide for her. To talk to her and make sure she was happy. She had taken that for granted. She had wasted his love by never realizing how precious and important it was to her. By never realizing how much she needed him as her rock.

_Your touch used to be so kind,_

_Your touch used to give me life,_

_I've waited all this time,_

_I've wasted so much time._

But now he was gone. He couldn't be there for her. And she was all alone. He had been her only family. The only one who would always be a part of her. She had been so close to him; closer to him than anyone else. When he had died, she had begun to drift away from the people who used to be her friends. It was so hard, to be happy and cheerful like she was supposed to be. It was so hard to act the way she always had. She had moved away from her old friends. She hadn't wanted them to know how broken and empty she was now. She had let them go, and now she was so alone. And so lonely.

_Don't leave me alone,_

_Cause I barely see at all,_

_Don't leave me alone,_

_I'm......._

She was so lonely. All alone. In the darkness that surrounded her. She had shied away from her friends. She had lost her father. She was so alone. So lost.

_Falling in the black,_

_Slipping through the cracks,_

_Falling to the depths,_

_Can I ever go back?_

_Dreaming of the way it used to be,_

_Can you hear me?_

_Falling in the black,_

_Slipping through the cracks,_

_Falling to the depths, can I ever go back?_

_Falling inside the black,_

_Falling inside, falling inside,_

_The black._

She hadn't wanted to hurt them even as she tried to distance herself from her friends. She had made it seem like she was happy and busy. She'd found herself in NY for a visit to the old places she had gone with her father. She'd gotten 'discovered' there. Just like in all of the old movies. She hadn't ever really dreamed about becoming a star, but she loved to sing, and she loved to act.

_You were my source of strength,_

_I've traded everything,_

_That I loved for this one thing,_

_Stranded in the offering,_

It was a good excuse to stay away from home. It was a job that made good money, and she didn't have to go back home and pretend to be okay. She'd still had to smile and be happy, but now the people around her were different. They hadn't known her all their lives. It was easier to pretend when she was around them because they didn't know her as well.

_Don't leave me here like this,_

_Can't hear me scream from the abyss,_

_And now I wish for you my desire,_

_Don't leave me alone,_

_Cause I barely see at all,_

_Don't leave me alone...._

She should have been home. She shouldn't have left her friends. They had always been like family. Never as close as her father, but they had all been together. They would have tried to help her. She shouldn't have left. She'd runaway. She'd abandoned her home. And all she got was a fabulous career and lots of empty hotel rooms.

_I'm falling in the black,_

_Slipping through the cracks,_

_Falling to the depths,_

_Can I ever go back?_

_Dreaming of the way, it used to be,_

_Can you hear me?_

_Falling in the black,_

_Slipping through the cracks,_

_Falling to the depths,_

_Can I ever go back?_

_Falling inside the black,_

_Falling inside, falling inside, the black_

_Black, Black, Black_

More memories haunted her. More terror flooded her mind.

Different memories both old and new were intermingling. People were running; screaming. Trying to flee and hoping that they could escape with their lives. They were calling for their loved ones, they were screaming out in pain and agony. Both physical and emotional as their lives were ripped away from them.

_Falling in the black...._

She saw turbulent water and large ships burning. She saw army soldiers trying to help save citizens and rescue them. She saw sailors trying to save their ships and cargo. She saw people drowning in the water. She saw a little boy with curly black hair sinking deeper into the water.

_Slipping through the cracks...._

She saw the smoke cloud fill the sky. The car tires screeching and horns honking as they raced down the road. She saw normal people cry and scream. She saw the glass glitter as it fell in the air. She saw pieces of the buildings crash down.

There were barricades set up to keep people back. People were running out from inside. The buildings were on fire. So much smoke in the air. Firefighters and police and new-crews were everywhere. So much crying. People were coughing. They'd breathed in the fumes. There were asthma and other health problems for the people who had been inside. Some had jumped out the windows trying to find safety. There was praying and cursing. And then, more cries of shock as the buildings both fell down.

_Falling in the black,_

_Slipping through the cracks,_

_Falling to the depths,_

_Can I ever go back?_

_Dreaming of the way it used to be,_

_Can you hear me?_

_Falling in the black,_

_Slipping through the cracks,_

_Falling to the depths, _

_Can I ever go back?_

_Falling inside the black,_

_Can you hear me?_

Her father was gone. He would never come back again.

_Falling inside the black,_

She'd abandoned her friends for a lonely career.

_Can you hear me?_

The docks of Byblos had burned.

_Falling inside the black,_

The Twin Towers had fallen.

_Can you hear me?_

_Falling inside...._

_Falling inside,_

_Falling inside,_

_The Black._

* * *

Her breathing was a pant, and her face was flushed. Her skin was too warm; a slight sheen of sweat covered her body.

The physicians looked at each other and sighed sadly. Then one of them carefully gathered some herbs together and gave them to the nurse. The nurse put away the medicine for future use, then carefully began to wipe a cool wet cloth over the patient's forehead.

The doctors left the room quietly.

Once they were outside Hadi stepped forward. She had been waiting to hear the news.

The looks on the healers' faces, and the defeated way in which they walked said enough.

"She's developed an infection. Probably a result of landing in that hay with such a large cut on her back. She has a high fever, and her breathing is erratic. There's a chance, a large chance, that she will die."

Hadi gasped slightly but nodded. She understood. It wasn't completely unexpected, but to hear it....

"I'm sorry. There's nothing more we can do for her. Just give her some herbs, and hope she can fight through it."

Hadi nodded again. Then she turned and walked down the long hallways on her way to find Queen Yuri.

They had been waiting for this news for a day now. And Hadi didn't like what she would have to tell them.

Kiara was in dangerous condition now.

And she probably wasn't going to make it.

* * *

**Ok, A/N:** The song is NOT being sung here just in case you didn't know. The song is like mood music. In this case, sad, dramatic mood music. BTW, if you haven't heard this song or any of the songs off of the album ''Comatose'' by Skillet, then go do so NOW!!!!! Skillet is the awesomest group ever, and 'Comatose' is one of my FAVORITEST albums. XD

So yup, more suspense. What will happen to Kiara? I'm not telling. And sorry no Ramses in this chapter. He'll be there nest time I promise. Review please!!


	36. Fever Dreams

Ugh I'm so mad at myself! I'm becoming all unreliable and unpredictable with my updates! I'm sorry. I hate that. Especially when I'm the one doing it. I only have one real excuse, I literally had something going on everynight this week. Really, from Monday to tonight (Saturday) I had something everynight. My excuse other than that was that I'm lazy. Stupid laziness. Also, I was freaking out with the chapter. I wanted to add lots of stuff in, but I'm trying to learn when things are not needed and when it's better to not add something.

On that note, Queen of everything pinapple, I did think it was a good idea to 'waste a few hundred words describing her mental state'. Sorry if u didn't see the point. The point as 'unknown' saw was to show a little of how her mind works. A persons past defines their future. So yeah, I spent a chapter in her head. I wanted to.

Again in this chapter we spend a lot of time in Kiara's mind. If people are unhappy with that then I'm sorry. I've started the next chapter and I promise it's not all in her head in the next one. Please enjoy and review! Nice reviews too; you can offer advice and tips and all but mean reviews are not wanted.

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**36: Fever Dreams**

"_Grandma! Grandma look! It's so tall and huge and shiny!"_

_A short girl about 10 years old bounced around the pavement as she looked up in wonder at the skyscrapers above her._

"_Grandma are we going to go inside there?" she turned quickly and ran back to her 'grandmother.' Her shortly-cut brown hair bounced and curled around her shoulders._

_Grandma Lelia looked into the excited blue eyes of her godchild and laughed. "Yes we can go look around. But when your father comes we'll have to go meet him."_

_Kiara laughed happily and ran back towards the building. "I know! I can't wait to see daddy! He said he would come today! He's coming on a plane right? But he didn't know which one, so we can't wait for him at the airport."_

_Her father was coming home today! She couldn't wait to see him. He'd been gone even longer this time. She wasn't quite sure what it was that he did when he went away, but she knew he was very strong and that he helped people a lot. He had to have been a good helper because lots of the time people walked up to him and 'thanked him for his service'._

_But he was coming home today! They could get hotdogs and run in the park! They raced each other a lot. He usually let her win. But he hadn't been sure which plane he would be able to get a ticket for, so they weren't sure when he would be arriving. They would just wait for his call, and go sight-seeing in the meantime._

_This was the World Trade Center. The Twin Towers people called them. Kiara had come here twice before, but it was always so interesting to go back. The towers were just so tall._

_They were standing outside the south tower for a minute. They had stopped because Kiara had suddenly seen a pretty flower that she wanted to look at._

_Kiara looked up from the flower when she heard an airplane. She liked airplanes. They could make you fly and they went really fast! That was so much fun!_

_But this one seemed really loud, like it was really close._

_She looked up at the sky just in time to see a great big airplane sail right into the North Tower._

_There was a big cloud of smoke and flames of fire as an explosion immediately occurred._

_People on the ground screamed and stared upward as the building caught fire and pieces began to fall to the ground._

_Kiara stared upward in horror while all around her she could hear people screaming and crying. Lots of people were pulling out their cell phones and calling for help or calling people they knew._

_9/11 had begun._

* * *

She turned her head to the side and breathed deep. She couldn't seem to find enough air. Everything was so hot. She loved being good and warm. She loved lying in the sun and soaking in all of the warmth.

But this was _so_ hot. Too hot. This was like a fire. Like she was inside an incinerator.

She could feel something cold on her forehead. And other cold things on her wrists and her neck. But they only felt a little cold next to her hot skin. And they made the skin that didn't have anything cold on it feel even hotter by comparison.

It was too hot. It was so hot. Like fire. Like great big tongues of fire leaping through the air consuming everything they touched....

* * *

_It was on fire! The North tower was on fire!_

_She continued to stare up in horror and shock. They should move. They should run and get away before the building turned completely to fire, but she couldn't move. All she could do was stare._

_She heard the sirens in the distance. People were coming to try and help. The bystanders on the street began to run and get out of the way. The cars on the street were turning and driving away from the disaster._

_People began running out from inside both of the Towers and the other surrounding buildings. They were fleeing. Trying to save themselves._

_Grandma Lelia took Kiara's hand and began to run, dragging the 10 year old along with her. They followed the rest of the crowd and avoided being stampeded as they tried to rush away from the area that was fast becoming filled with smoke, debris and rushing people._

_It wasn't much later when another airplane flew right into the South Tower._

_Grandma Lelia held Kiara tight to her chest as they both stared at the towers in shock. Grandma was crying silently. Kiara looked around at the people near them._

_Everyone was staring up at the towers. They were all wearing expressions of shock and sadness. Lots of them were crying._

_Two airplanes had just broken the World Trade Center._

_She thought airplanes were nice. They were fun. They were fast. Daddy had said that even though airplanes were so heavy and so high up, they were very safe. He didn't mind riding in airplanes at all. He was in them all the time so of course they were safe. He was in an airplane today._

_In an airplane today...._

_Suddenly Kiara went hysterical._

"_Daddy was on an airplane! He was on a plane! Daddy was on a plane!" she started screaming with tears streaming fast down her face. Grandma Lelia tried to hold onto her godchild, tried to comfort the young girl, but Kiara couldn't be calmed._

"_Daddy was on a plane! HE WAS ON A PLANE!" She screamed loudly. Her feet instinctively were pulling her back to the building. She had to go find him! If he was in one of those planes he could be hurt! He could be hurt!_

"_DADDY WAS ON THE PLANE!" she sobbed. Grandma wouldn't let her go. She couldn't get to the towers. She could go find her father. He was hurt! He was probably really really hurt, and she couldn't go help him!_

_Daddy had said he would be flying in to New York today. He hadn't said he would be flying **into** NY today!_

"_**DADDY**!"_

* * *

She was so hot. Everything was too muddled. Where was she? What was she doing? Was she home on the farm? Was she under the hot stage lights somewhere? Was she still standing there in NY that day when the air was so thick with dust that you could easily taste and feel it?

"Daddy...." she breathed softly. Where was he? He had always been there. He'd always come home. Why hadn't he come home now? Wasn't she sick? Didn't she need him now?

Where was her father?

"Dad...."

* * *

_She waited shifting from foot to foot. They were waiting at an airport now. It was days after the disaster people called Steptember 11th._

_She didn't think she could truly believe he was okay until she saw him. He could be hurt and Grandma just wasn't telling her. He might not be okay, he might...._

_Then she saw him._

"_DADDY!" she screeched loudly. As soon as Grandma let go of her hand she ran forward blindly. All she could see was him. She needed to hug him. To make sure that he was really there and this wasn't just a dream. If it was a dream then she hoped the whole thing was a big horrible nightmare. That she'd wake up, and no airplanes had crashed into anything. That everyone was still okay. That NY wasn't filled with ash and dust and mourning people._

_Her father was just as happy as she was to see her. He leaned down and scooped her up into his arms and held onto her so tightly._

_He was so strong. She had the strongest daddy in the whole world. And he was ok. He hadn't been on the plane. He hadn't been on any of the planes._

"_Daddy daddy daddy daddy...." she chanted over and over as she squeezed her small arms tightly around his neck. She never wanted to let go. She'd hold him forever._

_Tears were streaming down her face. She was so happy. And so scared and sad. Everything felt very wrong now, but right at the same time. Because he was here with her. Because she had her daddy back. But lots of other little girls had lost their dads. She may have been happy, but so many were not happy now._

"_I love you daddy." she whispered. He smoothed her short hair down and kissed the top of her head, still holding her tightly. Then he set her down on her feet and put his hands on her shoulders. He looked her straight in the eye the way he always did._

"_Kiara, cowgirls don't cry. We have to be strong. We have to keep going right?" he told her softly._

_She nodded. She wasn't supposed to cry like a baby. But she hadn't stopped crying since she'd first had the horrible thought that he was in one of the crashed planes._

"_Things are looking very bad now, but we have to be strong. We've gotta keep going. What happens when you fall off the horse?"_

_That was something he'd taught her a long time ago. It was so easy and simple. She sniffed once then wiped her hand across her eyes. She'd be strong for him. He wanted her to be strong. She needed to be strong for her daddy. And she'd be strong and try to help the other girls who had lost their daddies. She wasn't sure how she could help them, but she could try._

"_If you fall off your horse you get back on." she said loudly. He smiled at her. His blues eyes that were just like hers twinkled._

"_That's my baby girl."_

* * *

"Dad...." It was too hot. Why wasn't he here? Why couldn't he help her anymore? Had he actually been on that plane from the beginning? Had he really died in the 9/11 attacks? Had meeting him again and the whole rest of her life with him been just a dream? Had she imagined it all? Where was he?

He was gone. He had died. And she was all alone.

Cowgirl's don't cry.

He'd always taught her that. Even before it was a song he'd say that phrase to her.

_Cowgirls don't cry daddy, but they can die can't they?_

* * *

Someone was there. I could feel it. I could feel them.

What was that? Was I more aware now that I was feeling so crappy? Like when your blind you can hear better cause your sight isn't distracting you from your ears?

Whatever it was, I could feel someone there.

I also noticed that my thoughts were more coherent now. My head was still muddled and blurry, and I was still so freakin hot, but I could actually think. At least a little.

"Lucy I'm home." I murmured softly. Where was I? I don't remember. Where had I last been? Hm.... I didn't remember that either....

I guess they heard my soft stupid whisper cause whoever was in the room moved. I think they came closer to me.

"Who is Lucy?" a voice asked. I wanted to open my eyes and see who the person was. They sounded irritated. Like I was offending them. But I couldn't seem to remember how to open my eyes.

"Lucy's not real." I replied. That was obvious wasn't it? Everyone knew 'I Love Lucy' and the famous 'Lucy I'm home' line. Who was this guy?

I found out how to open my eyes then and looked up at whoever was there.

I saw a man with dark skin, and two different colored eyes. He was freakin _unbelievably_ hot.

But who was this guy?

I noticed that I was puffing and panting instead of normal breathing. "Where—"

I had to stop talking. My throat was so dry. I felt like I had never had anything to drink in my entire life.

I swallowed harshly, wincing from some pain then tried talking again. "Where am I?" was this L.A.? Or NY maybe? Had I gotten sick during a concert? Or was I filming something? What was I filming? Where was I filming it? What concert tour was I on? Was I the main front or the opening act this time?

"You're still in Byblos." the incredibly gorgeous man answered.

Where the hell is Byblos? Ugh, I hate geometry. I was never any good at it.

Wait..._geography_ was the countries one. Geometry was logic-like math. Well whatever, I sucked at both of them.

I looked up at the man, the beautiful beautiful man, and stared at him confusedly.

"Are you alright?" the man asked me with a frown.

Aw!!!! He was sexy and sweet! He was concerned about me! How sweet of him! When I wasn't feeling so hot and yucky, I should totally ask him out. Or maybe he would ask me out. We could have coffee together or, or....

Oh my gosh what was wrong with my head? Was this illness destroying every brain cell I had? I like boys; boys are cute and fun and nice and sometimes really idiots, but I had never, EVER, gotten so...dumb. Over a boy.

I groaned loudly. "I must be really sick."

"And why do you think that?" the man asked.

"Because I was just thinking how nice it would be to go out with you."

Why, the _hell_, had that just come out of my mouth? I could die. Fires of the world. please burn me to a crisp, I'd like to die now.

The beautiful man took a moment to think about what I had said, and then this huge smug smirk crossed his face. Now the beautiful man was a beautiful, _arrogant_, man.

"You talk the same way when you are ill as when you are drunk." he mentioned with a chuckle.

Drunk me? Never. My boyfriends had drunk sometimes, some of them, but I had never....

_Wait_! Wait one freakin minute! Oh!

I _had_ been drunk! I'd gotten drunk and said some stupid stuff to...to....

HIM! To the unbelievably hot guy next to me! I'd said stupid stuff to him! Because he was a cocky playboy jerk!

I was in the freakin stone age! There were no concerts here! Nobody had trailers to wait in until they shot their next drama scene for a movie!

There was no pizza here! Oh my freakin gosh THEY HAD NO COOKIES!

Oh why not let the fires burn through me? Could I live without the sweet, softness and warm sweet taste of a chocolate chip cookie? I think not. Let sweet death take me now.

Shakespeare was a class I did well in.

"Hey! You're that general!" I croaked loudly. His smirk disappeared into a frown, and he sighed loudly. He seemed unhappy somehow. Why was that?

"What the hell is your name?" I asked loudly.

Maybe that was why.

He looked irritated with me, but just as he was starting to answer me back, I felt a wave of heat envelope me, and I closed my eyes with a shudder. I couldn't see anymore. Couldn't hear.

Whatever it was that was making me sick refused to let go. It pulled me back under into the darkness and delirium.

Just before I completely lost it, I saw something. Like a vision.

It was his eyes. Not his smirk or his smug face and arrogant attitude. Just his gold and brown eyes.

They were so beautiful and deep. Filled with so many thousands of thoughts and feelings that I felt so drawn to. That I could get lost in so easily. I thought I could sit for days and days trying to read what I saw in those eyes.

And just as the vision of his eyes faded away, just before all conscious thought left me, I remembered one thing. It seemed so important, but I was unconscious before I could think of why.

_Ramses_.

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Ok so there you have it. I hope it isn't too confusing. This chapter is really the big explanation of why she is the way she is. Why she helps people so much and why she was so attached to her father.

When you read this, there will be a little bit of craziness to this; shifting and wavering in thought patterns and such. Keep in mind that Kiara was ten in her memories. Ten year olds think erratically. And she obviously wasn't going to be thinking clearly when she was in such a big fever.

On a side note about all this, I was a little kid when 9/11 happened. All I remember about it was that everyone was watching it on TV and everyone was sad and crying. I was to young to really care about it then. I think I was also a selfish brat when I was a kid. So all of what I just described is from my hazy memories, from what I read on Wikipedia, and from videos I watched on the incident. And before anyone asks, iy was my first year being homeschooled during 9/11 so I didn't have to write any real reports or spend much time talking about it.

My heart goes out to anyone who suffered in anyway from what happened that day. I really feel for you guys. All of America does. God bless you guys.


	37. Waking Up

**So here's the next chapter. it's only a little late. yay! please keep reviewing; reviews help me write you know. ;)**

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**37: Waking Up**

I woke up slowly. Carefully. I could remember waking up before in this 'hospital' room. I remember some doctor had been there saying how happy and glad they were that I had made it. They had said that my fever had broken and was going down, and my hysterical, delusional screaming had stopped as well.

As soon as he'd told me all that, I had fallen right back into unconsciousness.

As I slowly opened my eyes I had the brief curiosity towards whether it had been my sickness, or the embarrassment of having screamed in my sleep that had made me black out again before. But I suppose it didn't matter, and I could always blame it on being sick.

It probably did make a difference about what I was screaming for.

As I blankly stared up at the ceiling without really seeing it, I tried to remember what I had dreamed, so I might know what I had screamed. But I couldn't really remember anything. It was all very blank. But hot. Definitely hot. And not quite blank. It was hazy; like the way things shimmer and shift out of focus when they are so very very hot.

Wow, who knew that when you had a life-threatening fever things felt hot?

"You're awake."

I turned to the voice. It was familiar...but in the haze of my mind I couldn't remember who it belonged to.

"Oh it's you." I said with a hoarse voice. Then I coughed once. Yeah; I had never had a drink in my whole life. That's what it felt like.

Yuri nodded softly. She looked sad and unhappy. Why? Was something wrong? With Deiru maybe? Had someone else got to him once I left the room? Where had Korinna gotten to?

I started to feel panicked. Had someone hurt one of the babies? After all the trouble I went to to help them had they gotten hurt? Were they ok?

I tried to sit up, but my arms felt bone-less, and I couldn't even feel my legs.

"Is Deiru..." I started to ask, but I fell back onto the bed panting softly.

"No no! Deiru and Korinna are fine. It's you that had people worried." Yuri quickly said to reassure me.

People were worried...about me? These people? That didn't seem quite right.

I didn't say anything in answer, so Yuri fidgeted nervously beside me. I had nearly died I think. That was what the doctor had said right? Had Yuri been worried about me? Why? We weren't friends. We never even talked to each other. Why had she been worried about me? That didn't make much sense.

"I felt...." I looked at Yuri in surprise. What was she trying to say?

She sighed softly then looked me straight in the eye. I'd never noticed how black her eyes were before. Not the creepy kind of black either; the black like a dark starry-night type black. Pretty.

"I've been feeling bad about the way we treated you. And after what you've been going through and been doing for us. I'm really very sorry."

She said it very fast. Like she had to get it out there quick before she lost the words or before something else happened.

She felt sorry? I could easily see that this really had been bothering her. Now that wasn't good.

"Hey, I wasn't a perfect gem myself either. You don't have to feel _that_ bad." I protested. I edged upward, so that I was leaning on my elbows. It was hard and a little painful, but exercise was probably something I needed right now.

"But I didn't even try to talk to you or to help you or anything and look whats happened!" Yuri exclaimed.

"Oh come on. Now you know bad things happen in battles, and you didn't plan on that happening at all. My being dumb enough to fall off of a house was not your fault." I scoffed lightly.

"But if we had talked more then maybe somehow it would be different."

"You know, 'if' is a really big word for only having two letters." I teased lightly. She didn't seem to care for the joke. Maybe she didn't understand. Japanese words were written in Kanji. So they didn't spell things with ABC's and such.

"It's my fault. I'm so sorry Kiara." she sniffed slightly.

Oh come now. She shouldn't be taking all this on herself. I would be the first to admit that I was a royal bitch on my first day here. It was ridiculous trying to blame both my injuries and our strained relationship on herself.

"Hey Yuri that's not fair. You can't take all the blame on yourself. Didn't anyone ever teach you to share?" I whined lightly. She smiled softly, and I grinned back at her.

"I still should have tried to talk to you more." Yuri said looking self-reproachful.

"Oh right! I really wanted to know what language we're speaking, and how I magically know it. Tell me about it would you?" I said settling back in my pillows. For some reason, my question made her blush a little.

"I, ah, don't know how you can speak it so easy. When I first got here I couldn't understand a word." Yuri admitted still blushing slightly.

"Did you have to learn everything on your own?" I asked curious. She blushed even more.

"Ah, no." she looked away, and my curiosity grew a lot more.

"Tell me!" I begged loudly. She began to blush some more and tried to change the subject. I had lots of fun teasing her and trying to figure out what the secret was.

"Ok ok ok! Be a spoil-sport and keep it all to yourself." I said pretending to grumble. "Tell me about that Nakia woman. You two had a little feud going didn't you?" I said grabbing an apple that was on the table beside me. I was supposed to eat so I could get better.

"Who said that?" Yuri asked startled.

"Servant people. You know how rumors are." I said easily without giving even a hint that I had eavesdropped on private royal conversations.

"Well it wasn't like a real feud. We couldn't fight openly. She was the queen after all."

Yuri started to tell me about her life here. It was really fascinating. Just like a fantasy movie. Nakia had brought Yuri here so she could use the Japanese in a curse to kill the princes. Kail had apparently saved Yuri for no reason other than wanting to annoy Nakia. Kail and Yuri hadn't gotten along at first though it seemed like Kail had somehow helped Yuri learned the language here. Must be his magic or something. Yuri told me about how she was unable to go home, and so she'd had to stay here under protection of Kail so she could be safe. She'd pretended to be his concubine since saying he was protecting her from the queen wasn't an option. It seemed like Yuri and Kail had developed a relationship pretty easily though it took years for either of them to commit.

I listened to the long and winding tale while slowly eating two apples. The more she talked, the more awed I was. This was Oscar worthy. I mean how the hell had she done so much in, like six years? They'd uprooted a queen, started a rebellion in Egypt, defeated both Egypt and someplace called Mitanni, had a wedding, lost quite a few friends, and dealt with bitchy court women who tried to get Kail to marry them.

When Yuri stopped talking, hours had passed. She told the stories well. With humility even though she had done so much. I clapped loudly when she was done, and she blushed.

"Please please _PLEASE_, tell me I can use all that when I get home! I mean that would make one hell of a movie. Can you say, _Oscars_ for story-line, drama, adventure, romance? And of course for the lead actress, naturally me. I mean we're about the same height and all."

She blushed some more. You'd have thought that as a queen, she would be used to complements and flattering, but she was so humble. She acted like she was still that young school girl she had been before she had come here. The only thing that seemed to have changed, was that she had gained more maturity from all of this. She wasn't a arrogant queen at all. In fact, she was real sweet. After all our talking during the last few hours, I found that I liked her. If we had met at school or something, we would have been good friends I'm sure.

Once she was done telling me her story, she wanted to know about me.

"Well you know. Same old Cinderella story told the thousandth time." I shrugged.

"But you're a singer right? A popular one?" she asked wide-eyed.

"Yeah, but you're a queen. There's not much royalty in our time, so you're cooler than I am." I grinned at her.

She laughed. "But still, tell me more about you." she insisted.

I sighed. "I grew up on a ranch in Tennessee. I could ride a horse before I could walk on my feet."

I closed my eyes as I remembered growing up. "The hills were so green. So beautiful and continuous. You could watch the stars every single night and feel the wind. There were thousands of trees and places for swimming or hiking or running. It was beautiful. And perfect."

"It sounds really nice." Yuri said with a sigh. I nodded.

"But every place has its bad points. Winters were horrible. So much damn snow. And bugs in the summer. I learned to stay under water for a long time simply so I could avoid all the damn bugs."

Yuri laughed with me, and we both agreed that bugs were miserable horrid things. We talked about horses a little too. She seemed to have learned a bit about horses since coming here, and I was glad to be able to speak about them again.

"When you get to NY and LA most people think horses are smelly or something. I can't remember the last time I was able to speak about things like this with someone." I said sighing. I had met some awesome people in the few years that I was a star. But I'd also met some of the most vapid, annoying, shallow people on earth. It was a toss-up of who I'd met more of.

"What was it like? Meeting movie stars?" Yuri asked.

"Some were fabulous. I met Meryl Strep once; she is the _nicest_ person. And so talented. I swear her house should be _filled_ with awards. And Tim Allen is _so_ funny."

We talked about some of the movie and music stars that she had heard of, and I told her what I knew about Japan's new stars.

"You're lucky. You've gotten a lot of fame in such a short time." Yuri commented. I nodded in agreement. I had always thought that.

"It's crazy. I was just walking down the streets in NY when I heard some people playing their instruments. I was feeling a little low, so I decided to act crazy. I was singing and dancing to "Stupid Girls" by P!nk and suddenly, this woman was telling me about all sorts of wonderful career options. A few months later, my debut album is topping the charts, I've got a tour planned for the summer, and talk show appearances scheduled all over the place. After the tour I was in two movies, and then I had another album and then another movie and some other odd jobs, and then I was on tour again. I was headed back to the States when I got sucked here from Tokyo."

"All that because you were singing on the street?" Yuri asked eyes wide.

"Yeah well Connie, my manager and discoverer, is a miracle working. She said that when she saw me she thought I was funny, talented, fresh, and...oh yeah, a shock of energy." I said trying to remember exactly what the woman had told me the first time I'd gone into her office for an interview.

"That's amazing. I thought it could take years for something like that to happen."

"Yeah. I guess I was lucky or something." I mumbled softly. Yuri noticed the change in my attitude. I wonder what she thought about my swiftly changing moods.

"What's wrong?"

"It's just that...you know. I went back home _twice_ after I got into 'show biz'. I didn't keep in touch much at all. I was stupid in that, and I may never see them again." I whispered softly. I saw that her eyes mirrored some of my sadness. As much as she might love her husband and her life here, she had left a life, a family behind. She had to really miss them too.

"You were busy. It's not really your fault. You just got caught up in everything. I'm sure they understood." she said trying to reassure me. Her kind words made me feel worse and more sorry that she had lost people who were important to her.

"No. It was my fault. I was scared to go home. I avoided everyone there. I was running away and using my new work as an excuse." I could feel her curious and confused gaze. Instead of answering with words, I reached over to the table beside the bed I was in. When the doctors had begun their work on me, they had removed my torn clothes and anything that was in the way. I picked up one of the things they took off now. It was a chain necklace that I wore every single day and almost never took off.

I held up the chain and silently handed it to Yuri. She accepted the necklace softly. It was a plain chain. Hanging off of it were two small metal objects.

Tags. Dog-tags.

It was easy to tell what they were and what they came from. I could see Yuri's concerned frown as she saw the name on the dog-tags. My father's name.

"He's...." her voice trailed off.

"He went to the war. He'd always come home before, but this time...." I swallowed harshly. "All they sent me were his tags, a medal, and a letter of sympathies. And a jar of ashes."

"I'm sorry Kiara." Yuri whispered softly.

I shrugged. "He loved his job. He loved knowing that he was defending his home and country. When he died, I couldn't stay home. I didn't want to deal with the pity. Pity is annoying so I left it behind."

I lied. I told her I ran from their pity. In truth, I had run from their pity, but I'd also run because if I had stayed there, seen my friends and all the places where he and I had been together, it would have broken me. I left because my heart was breaking to stay. But she didn't need to know that. She didn't need to think I was weak and pathetic. Instead I'd let her think I was a bitch who didn't want my friends' support.

"So there's another war?" Yuri asked softly.

I closed my eyes sharply. Images of ash and smoke, the smell of fire, the sound of screaming, crying and crashing buildings momentarily overrode my senses.

"There was a terrorist attack on the World Trade center in NY. The Twin Towers were both hit by airplanes and crashed. There was also an attack on the Pentagon. There was a fourth plane that was headed for Washington DC, but the passengers tried to retake the plane. No passenger on any of the planes survived. It was September 11th, 2001. President Bush launched the War on Terrorism and sent people into Afghanistan. People think the war will be ending soon." I finished softly.

Yuri's black eyes held shock and she was covering her mouth with her hands. Whether she knew a lot about the Towers or not, crashing four airplanes and starting a war was big news. Besides, she probably did know about the Twin Towers. They had been the tallest buildings in the world for about a year.

For a while we didn't talk. She was thinking through what I had said, and I was trying to ignore the memories. I decided the thing to do now was to take both of our minds off of what was happening in the future.

"Hey, you ever heard of 'The Water-Buffalo Song'?"

* * *

About an hour later I had moved on from teaching Yuri silly songs, and we were joking and laughing. She asked me to actually sing sometime, and I told her I would consider. I asked if I could learn to use a sword, and she said she didn't mind. We were having fun, acting just like girls who hung out together even though she was a few years older than me.

It was nice, I discovered. To have a friend here in the B.C. ages. I was glad we could get along.

* * *

**yay! they are friends now. isn't that nice? tell me how long you think it'll last in a review!**


	38. Bed Rest

The next update. It's late again. Senseing a pattern are you peoples? What can I say? It's coming. And it is coming out once a week-ish. Which is what I said I would try to do. Don't feel much inspirtion for writing though. Reviews would help with that. I'll keep writing though. I'd hate to be one of those people who leaves a story behind unfinished.

* * *

**38: Bed Rest**

I had been bored as hell. Really. I wasn't allowed to get up, I wasn't allowed to go out. I was only allowed to sit in my little bed in this little room and heal. It wasn't even my room; the one I had been in before all this had happened. No it was some sort of little sick room. For a patient. Meaning I was a patient. I was so bored!

Any one who knows me knows I really can't stand being bored. I'll do anything to get rid of the boredom. I'll talk to myself, out-loud or in my head. I'll rip things to pieces. Once I was very desperate. I tried to make some cookies. They came out of a package. All I had to do was put them in the oven. I swear that's all I did. When the timer went off, I opened the door to take them out of the oven, and they were gone. Not really gone, they were still there, but in the form of ashes. I honestly have no idea how that happened. There wasn't a fire. If there had been I would have noticed it right? Right?

So anyway, I was sitting in my little room feeling bored as hell wondering what to do to not be bored. So I did what I often do; I sung to myself.

It was one of my favorite songs. 'Defying Gravity' from my absolute favorite musical 'Wicked'. I had seen the show on Broadway and loved it. I had met Kristen Chenowith too. She was the funnest person I had ever met. I really loved her. I mean she was so awesome. And talented. She sung, she acted on stage and on film and she was very funny and sweet. Completely down to earth. She was awesome.

So I was just sitting there singing softly to myself, and on impulse I had begun to sew the back of my shirt. The shirt I had been wearing when the nut-job had decided to try and slice me open.

My poor t-shirt would never be perfect and pretty anymore, but at least it was still useable. I could always use it as a night shirt. Call me crazy, but I wasn't real crazy about some of the clothes they had here. It was freakin hot outside so they had thin fabric for the dresses. Lots of the dresses had big slits or no shoulder coverage. Some had no stomach covering either. And I meant it when I said the fabric was thin. It was real thin. Like practically see-through. Now, I'm not really a prude, nor am I a conservative. I wear bikinis sometimes, but I was pretty damn uncomfortable in a dress that you could see through in the right sunlight. It creeped me out, and I wasn't gonna wear something like that. So, like now, I only wore the dresses that had a decent amount of thickness to the fabric, covering over my midriff and no big thigh-high seam splits.

But singing helped. I loved to sing. I loved the way that no matter how you felt at any moment, you could always find a song that mirrored those feelings, and you could pour your whole heart into the song. Showing the depth of your emotions through the lyrics and the music. Any way that you felt could be showed through music. And dancing was great too. Dancing fast or slow to the beat was a refreshing and a heart-felt exercise. You could mirror everything out through your singing and dancing. I really loved it.

Now I know I hate being bored. I know that I'll talk and sing to myself when I am bored.

I also get as embarrassed as hell when I suddenly realize someone has been watching me talk/sing to myself.

"Holy crap where did you come from." I gasped as I looked over at my nurse whom I had suddenly noticed standing right beside me.

She smiled softly, sorry for scaring me. She proceeded to hand over some food for me and began checking the bandages on me. I had lots around my back, some on my head, and around my left ankle. That hurt the most. After all, he had grabbed hold of my ankle and, while gripping it, he had thrown me around like a sack of potatoes.

"You have a lovely voice." the nurse commented as she continued to look me over. I blushed softly and bit my bottom lip. I know. I thought that Yuri was modest for a queen, but I knew that I was modest for a international super-star. I couldn't help it. I liked to sing, that's why I did it. And while I liked the spotlight and didn't mind being under it, I didn't crave it. I didn't need the attention and complements. They still made me feel uncomfortable even after years of receiving them. Not that I didn't like them. I just wasn't always sure what to do or say when I received them.

"Ah, thank you." I murmured in response to the woman's compliment.

"Perhaps when you are feeling well you will sing for their majesties?" the nurse cheerfully said in an off-handed way.

_Oh wonderful. Sing for King, Yuri and all their rich pretty people noble subjects. _I thought quite un-cheerfully. Suddenly I really didn't feel like singing anymore. It left me with not much to do though. I had finished with the shirt, so what else could I get up to while I was forced to remain in bed?

_Well I can get grumpy. _I thought to myself. _Sick people are allowed to be grumpy and pain in the butts right? _I sighed. I couldn't just randomly try to bother other people. It wasn't their fault I was on bed rest. Even if I had been in NY General Hospital I still would have had to stay in bed for a while.

_But I would have books to read and TV to watch._

_Since when do I watch TV? I'm too busy and too jumpy for that lately._

_So I'm going to argue with myself now?_

_What else can I do?_

I sighed._ Dear God, please send me something to do. Please?_

* * *

After three weeks I was ready to kill something. Preferably the doctor who had kept me on bed-rest for three weeks. Yuri came to visit me a lot. She was fun to talk with and kept me company pretty well, but she had work to do and wasn't able to come much. Hadi came sometimes too. I was beginning to think that Hadi liked me a little and wasn't just checking up on me like she said. In my opinion, she's nicer than her twin sisters. As far as I know those two still hate me, but hey, you can't please everyone.

I had another visitor during the 3 weeks. I was very surprised when General kept coming to see me. He didn't come everyday or every other day, but he was there somewhat often. I don't know why he came. All we did was bicker with each other. He's just the kind of arrogant playboy jerk that I can't stand, and he constantly tells me how annoying he finds me. So why did he keep coming to see me? I don't know. After three weeks though I am able the remember his name. It's Ramses. But I still call him General cause it bothers him so much.

King had sent Ilvani back to Hattusa to watch things there while King himself stayed here in Byblos. From what Yuri said he had decided to stay for a while so he could keep an eye on the rebuilding of Byblos and to make sure there weren't more unhappy people trying to start a rebellion.

I'd gotten the whole story during the first week. Yuri had told me all about why the rebellion had apparently started. I had to say that as far as rebellion goes, I wasn't sure if what I thought of this one.

Sure they had all lost their jobs, but it sounded like they had never been good at their jobs. They were called an army, but mostly they were bullies who picked on people when the rotten evil queen told them too. Still, without their jobs what could they do? They needed money for food and places to live, and when there are hundreds of people all looking for a job at once it's difficult to find something.

_That's what happening in America now too. Well, not _now_ now. 3,000 years from now now._

_I really need to stop thinking. All I do is confuse myself._

That's when another confusing person came in to...well did he come here to keep me company or to see who would win the next round?

"I thought that I told you that if you ever came back here I would claw your eyes out." I said crossly as the resident Egyptian general sat in the chair next to my bed.

He smirked at me arrogantly while his strange eyes twinkled with mischief.

"I believe my response was to tell you that you were behaving very deplorably for a woman." Ramses said still smirking.

"Well shall I get on my knees and grovel? Is that lady-like behavior here? Or shall I simply remain quiet, meek, docile and a million other insanely annoying things that are supposed to be lady-like?" I snapped loudly. As cute as he was—and he was cute believe me—but he quite usually annoyed the hell out of me. Such an arrogant jerk really. A real sexist pig.

And I hate that.

He raised an eyebrow at me. "Aren't we vile today." he remarked lightly.

"Well you're here aren't you? What else could today be."

Ooh, Burn! His smirk dimmed a little at my insult.

Haha, Me-1; him? A big fat 0!

"And I brought you good news today." he said with a fake sigh.

Call me a cat, but I saw a fish dangling over my here. Should I take the bait or not?

_Damn. I'm so bored._

"What good news?" I asked lightly trying to sound like I didn't hate him.

"I can't remember now. I'm too heartbroken. I have after all, just been told that my presence is vile to such a beautiful woman." he said sadly.

I rolled my eyes. If I had a hundred eyes every single one of them would be rolling. I'd also look pretty creepy. But talk about fake. I doubted anything I ever said could break this jerk's heart; he was too selfish to be affected by other people like that. And he knew that I didn't like having him around cause all we did was fight and bait each other like this. Besides, me beautiful? I know I'm not, and he has taken the opportunity of telling me I'm a plain unattractive woman plenty of times.

"You selfish pig what good news?" I demanded loudly.

"Ah, more insult. The good news fades further from my mind."

He was smirking again. Stupid idiot. But there was no way that I was gonna apologize. Hell would freeze first! And then the devil would hand out candy and take kids ice-skating. All that, before I told this jerk I was sorry for 'insulting' him when as far as I'm concerned everything I had said was true.

"Remind me to cook something sweet for you when I can get up again." I said with fake kindness.

"No thank you. I've heard all about your disaster in the kitchens. I do wonder how a woman can be such failure at her job."

I pursed my lips as he went on with the same subject that he loved to bring up everyday.

"After all, you cannot cook. Your stitching is very weak. You have no manners; in fact, you not only lack the proper grace and finesse of a fine woman, but you act as unschooled and uncivilized as the poorest beggar child. You are also rather plain and unattractive. You don't have much to offer as a woman do you?"

Me:1

Him:....more than one. Jackass.

"You son of a—!"

"There you go again. Acting rude and ill-mannered." he said with a sigh.

I clenched my teeth. Why did he come here? Just to bother me? Did he really find it so enjoyable to come here and point all my flaws? I _know_ I'm pretty useless outside a recording or acting studio. Did he have to spend so much time pointing it out for me?

He was smirking at me like he had won. And for the moment he had. I was trying to think up something witty to say that would humiliate him when the door opened and someone else came in.

It was Yuri.

_Well this is gonna be interesting._

I hadn't seen them together yet. But I knew their history was all tangled and involved a big love triangle.

I had to sudden urge to want popcorn. Would there be a big scene? Would it be dramatic and loud, or would they both be embarrassed and try to ignore each other?

At first I wanted to see him squirm for once. Let him feel unhappy and messed-up. But then my stupid natural 'nice' instinct kicked in, and I felt bad for him. Poor guy had cared about Yuri; possibly loved her, and she had picked someone else. And now, he had to be here to watch Yuri be in love with someone else. And Kail and Ramses didn't seem to like each other regardless. Add Yuri to that, and it just made everything all weird.

"Hiya Yuri-chan. Whatcha doing?" I asked like a five year old. I was trying to keep things light and fun. Not soap-opera-like.

"I just thought I'd come to see you. The doctor said you could get up now, so I thought you would be happy to exercise a bit." Yuri said with a smile, but I didn't miss the way her eyes kept shifting back toward Ramses. She seemed more than a little surprised that he was here. He, on the other hand, wasn't showing much emotion anymore. Gone was his annoying smirk. He looked like a stone now. Cold and unmovable.

"Hey! So that was the good news! I'm allowed to move, and you didn't tell me?" I snarled to the Egyptian. How _dare_ he?

Without wasting any time I threw all of the covers off of me and sat up. "I've been siting in this bed for weeks! I finally get to move around, and you don't tell me!" I was beyond furious with him.

"Wait a minute..." Ramses stood up trying to warn me, but I wasn't thinking too much right then.

I put my feet on the ground and stood up out of bed on my own for the first time in about three weeks.

Then I fell over.

You see, after not using your legs for so long, they get a little stiff. I really wasn't able to help falling over. Gravity at work.

"Oof!" I gasped softly as I fell into someone. I looked up to see that Ramses had caught me before I hit the floor.

He sighed loudly. "You don't think much before you do things." he said softly. I realized that he was adding onto my list of flaws. Stupid. But he was right. I should have been more careful.

Another thing I unhappily noticed, was that his arms were around me to hold me up. I was leaning against his chest. And he was really strong. There was no baby fat on him at all. It was all muscle.

Wow.

"Well if you had told me before then maybe I would have thought about it first!" I argued back. I shoved against his chest, and he let go. I sat back on the bed quickly before I could fall again. I was blushing a little. From embarrassment, and as much as I would deny it, from being in his arms like that.

_Hey its like logic or fate or natural. He's a cute guy. I shouldn't feel bad about being embarrassed to be held by him. It's normal._ I was confusing my own mind again. What was my point and how was I trying to get to it? I have no idea anymore.

"You two seem to be...getting along." Yuri mentioned with a small smile. I had almost forgotten she was there. I don't think Ramses had though. He had been tense since she walked in, and he was still tense.

"He comes here all the time to bother me. Honestly. I guess he's bored here in Byblos. Not as bored as me of course." I complained loudly as I rubbed my legs to get the stiffness out of them.

"Ah I see. Well Kail says we'll be going back to Hattusa in another week. I'm sure both of you can find something to do once we get there." Yuri said helpfully. "I just came in to check on you and to remind you not to overdo it Kiara. I'll get going now." she smiled then made a graceful retreat.

Neither Ramses nor I said anything. We just stared at the door that she had closed behind her after she left.

_She was uncomfortable around him. And he felt the same around her. He still has feelings for her and she knows it._ I glanced over at Ramses quickly. He was still stiff and stone like.

I felt bad for him. That was a problem with me. Even if I hated someone and wanted nothing more for them to get what was coming to them, I'd still end up feeling bad for them when something bad did come to them. And who knows, he was acting like a jerk to me, but maybe he wasn't always a jerk. Maybe before he had his heart broken he was nicer. Not to say that Yuri was at fault either. That's the problem with love. It's no ones fault. It's like an accident. It just happens, and you can't predict it enough to stop it or make it not hurt anyone.

_So maybe he's just being bitter and jaded right now. I get that. I'm often quite bitter. Maybe he was taking all that out on me. I didn't appreciate that, but I understand it. I guess._

"Hey." I spoke up trying to get his attention. He had been watching the door with his stone stare, but now he turned to look at me.

I took a deep breath, not quite sure what to say. I'm not always good with my words. A lot of times what I'm trying to say comes out wrong. Well here goes nothing.

"I get that you don't want to be here. I don't really wanna be here either. But you don't have to use me as a scapegoat for your feelings about her." I said looking him straight in the eye.

He blinked at me seeming surprised at what nonsense I was saying. Then he bent down so that he was eye level with me.

"What are you talking about now?" he questioned lightly.

I looked away. His eyes were very intense. "I know you have a thing for her, and I'm sorry it didn't work out. Love sucks. But you don't have to be mad at me all the time when the person you're really mad at is her." I hadn't meant to be accusing. No wait, I had. Sometimes you have to hit people over the head to make them stop and listen to you.

He stared at me for a while longer not really sure what to say. He probably thought I was stupid and annoying and weird. Well I thought those things about myself half the time, so it didn't bother me too much.

I jumped when I felt his hand on the top of my head. "Hey!" I shouted in surprise when he started to mess up my hair and get it all over my face.

"You should be careful with what you say. Especially when you're talking about something you don't know anything about."

His voice was light, almost teasing, but I could hear a very faint bit of bitterness in it. He let go of my hair and strode out of the room with a small wave.

My words had gotten to him.

I bit my lip. I hadn't wanted him to feel bad. I had been trying to say that he didn't have to act like he hated me. He could have just talked to me instead.

I sighed. _Hopefully I'll go home soon and leave all this mess behind. And hopefully he'll find someone else to pick on._

* * *

"_...you don't have to be mad at me all the time when the person you're really mad at is her."_

_Damn. The little brat was right._ Ramses stood in the faint sunlight of late sunset on the top of the palace roof. Kiara's words had bothered him, and he didn't like it.

He'd started going to visit her while she was on bed rest not long after her fever broke. At first he hadn't been sure why he went. He didn't enjoy her company. She was annoying. And as he'd already noticed, she had a way of reminding him too much of Yuri. But he had gone to see her, and they had fought all the time.

He was deliberately cruel with her too. He knew women very well. He knew just how to compliment them and make them feel happy and special. But he had done the opposite with Kiara. He took perverse delight in torturing her and making her feel like less. Why? Why had it pleased him to hurt her?

"_...you don't have to use me as a scapegoat for your feelings about her."_

Without realizing it, he had been using her to release the pent up anger towards Mursili. And towards Yuri.

That was a strange idea; that he was angry with Yuri. He had never thought that he was. He knew he hated Mursili, but he'd never noticed the resentment he had for Yuri as well. Resentment that she chose someone else over him. Resentment that she seemed so happy when she was with Mursili but had always pointed out to him, Ramses, that she wasn't in his company by choice.

He was angry at her, and he never realized it. And he used Kiara as a means to express the anger. Because, after all, Kiara reminded him of Yuri. So when he was making fun of Kiara, deep down he was mocking Yuri.

But that wasn't the only thing. In a different way, being around Kiara was like being with Yuri. Being with her without Mursili being nearby.

_Damn. _He felt a headache coming on. Kiara really was an annoyance. He couldn't decide if he went to see her cause he wanted to hurt her in Yuri's stead, or of he wanted to talk with her in Yuri's stead.

_But she is annoying. She talks too much, and what she says makes no sense. She's not very pretty, and __she really doesn't have any decency._

Ramses sighed. He should ignore the woman and not go to see her anymore.

_It's too bad though. As irritating as she is she's the best entertainment around here._

He sighed again. It was just his luck that the only woman around here that wasn't boring was actually an irritating brat he really didn't want anything to do with. He would just have to be bored in Hattusa. There was nothing else interesting going on.


	39. Exercise

**only a day late this time! yay! this is another sorta filler chap, but i think its kinda needed. She can't just jump up and be healthy and everything again so this takes you through it a little. we'll be getting back to somemore plot soon though i promise!**

**btw, i know people don't always like to read lyrics in the muiddle of a story. i don't usually like to either and the lyrics this time aren't important. it's just more 'mood' music and some little peaks into the weirdness of Kiara's mind.**

**'Body Language' belongs to Jesse McCartney and his record company and 'Hot Air Balloon' belongs to Owl City aka Adam Young and his company. i take no credit for the songs nor for the characters from RedRiver. the only thing I own is Kiara and this long strange plot line. :)**

* * *

**39: Exercise **

I turned up the volume on my MP3 player. It was nice and high, good and loud in my ears through the ear-buds. I picked a playlist which started with my favorite warm-up song: "Body Language" by Jesse McCartney ft T-Pain. Can I just say that Jesse is one of those awesome singer/songwriters who was very good at following the trend, staying in trend and still being himself and just plain awesome?

And can you tell that I was one of his fan-girls when I was littler?

Anyway the song was running through my MP3, and I was following the beat. Just like the lyrics of the song.

_Now, I don't speak Spanish, Japanese or French  
But the way that body's talkin' definitely makes sense  
It's her, her body, her body, her body language  
It's her, her body, her body, her body language  
The way she moves around  
When she grinds to the beat  
Breaking it down articulately  
It's her, her body, her body, her body language  
It's her, her body, her body, her body_

I loved this song. I did agree that body language was one of the only things that was universal. No matter where you came from, the way people moved when they were flirting, scared, or happy were all close to the same.

Actually math is the same in every country too. But I hate math, so I don't think about that and its universal-ness.

This song was perfect for a warm up. It was uplifting and fun, but the beat wasn't overly fast giving my body time to adjust to the exercise.

I was in my own room again finally. Not the patients room they had kept me in for four weeks. For a whole week I had been in my own room. Now I was in the middle of the floor dancing. Dancing was fun, and I loved it. It was exercising too.

Ever since I had been able to get out of my bed and had been able to stand on my own, I had been stretching my muscles and trying to get my old rhythm back. I was a great dancer. I loved to dance. Back in my normal, _real_, life I had made sure to spend a good half hour everyday dancing to keep my flexibility and fitness. But since coming here to the stone age I hadn't danced at all. For the past two weeks I had been trying to rectify that mistake.

It had hurt at first, and I couldn't do so much. I hadn't stretched lately and being on bed rest for three weeks really hadn't helped. But none of my bones had been broken, and by working through the stiffness and pain, I was almost back to my normal fitness. Which was good and made me glad.

As my dancing playlist continued, I moved to keep up with the music. I did all kinds of dancing when I was exercising. It was never completely the same either; if you only move the same way over and over its not really exercise.

Ke$ha was great for dancing. My favorite from her was TikTok. Naturally.

I made sure to work all of my favorite moves into my retinues. A lot of kicks and jumps. There was a lot of arm and leg movement, and whenever Shakira or Beyonce came on, a lot of hip-rolling.

In short, in a dance club or on stage, I would look like a fabulous dancer. And I was. Alone in my room I looked a little goofy. But hey, I was alone and it was good exercise. Plus it was fun. And it kept me in touch with my own place. Soon, maybe when we got back to Hattusa, I would be able to go home.

Speaking of Hattusa, we were supposed to have gone back there last week, but a lot of weird little problems kept popping up and irritated, King had stayed to fix things. Poor guy. He really wanted to get back, but he was staying here for his people. That's was nice of him.

The playlist ended with a slower but still fun song. It was important to warm-up and then 'warm-down' when you were exercising which is why my playlist started and ended slow giving me time to adjust to the change.

_I'll be out of my mind  
and you'll be out of ideas pretty soon.  
So let's spend the afternoon  
in a cold hot air balloon.  
Leave your jacket behind.  
Lean out and touch the tree tops over town.  
I can't wait to kiss the ground wherever we touch back down.  
la la la la la la  
la la la la la la_  
I sighed softly. I just gotta say, 'Hot Air Balloon' is one of my favorite songs and 'Owl City' aka Adam Young is one of the best ever.

* * *

I had gotten all nice and limber after my morning dancing, so now I was outside exercising in a different way.

I could hardly go around with a gun in this day and age. When I had used it in during the attack to save Yuri, it had raised a lot of questions. Yuri had told King that it was something that was used instead of swords in our world, and he didn't ask anymore about it; the rest of Yuri's group who all knew the truth about her, had been told the same thing and they also hadn't asked anymore about it. For the rest of the world, we said it was a weapon from the gods only to be used in times of greatest need. Since Yuri and I were goddesses, it was natural we could use and know about the weapon.

But still I couldn't use a gun here. During the first week when I had been on bed-rest Yuri had brought me the gun. I had cleaned the thing and unjammed it just the way daddy taught me. Then I had pulled out the firing pin so that it couldn't shoot. Right now it was safe in my bag acting as a big bulky paper-weight.

But without the gun or pepper-spray I needed a different weapon. Which was why, for the past two weeks I had also been doing weapons training with the weapons of this world.

Training was something I was used to. I hadn't had weapons or endurance training for about two years, but it was easy to fall back into it. I made sure to do push-ups and sit-ups everyday, and it was helping. I could feel the old strength and pride I had gotten from learning from my father coming back.

The weapons I learned with were the sword and bow and arrows.

Right now I was shooting. It had been difficult at first. Holding the bow up properly and pulling the tight string back was hard on my arms and shoulders. I was more of a leg person. I just had more strength in my legs because of all the dancing I did. But I bit my lip and forced myself to use the bow everyday so that it got easier and easier to draw and release.

I was standing on the archery field holding a bow. While staring at my target, I lifted to bow up, with an arrow already notched, I pulled the string back and focused on the target.

It was a large pile of hay with a sack-cloth thrown over it. On the cloth there was a small black circle. The circle was the target. I set my eyes on the absolute center of the target.

Arrows were effected by the wind somewhat easily. I had a lock of hair down by the side of face. It was a trick I had learned before. I kept my hair up for convenience, but by letting some of it hang free could see the direction of the wind and the speed of it.

There wasn't much wind, so it wouldn't hurt anything. I strained to keep the bow level and pulled back. I held it tightly, then, I released.

I sighed. Not a bulls-eye. My arrow landed a little to the right of the circle. But I was better than I had been two weeks ago. A lot better. My arrow actually landed on the hay-pile and was actually within three inches of the target these days.

I was done with archery for today. It was time to head on to swords training.

_Joy of joys. _I thought sourly. I hated sword training. It was a vile and evil wicked thing, and I hated it.

* * *

I'd thought I would be good with a sword. I don't know why. I couldn't play tennis or badminton enough to save my life. I could hit things with a bat though. But I couldn't use a damn sword.

_What is it? I can see that he'd feinting with me now, he keeps glancing at my knees. He wants to hit me there, but his sword is around my shoulders. I can see what he's up to, but I can never ever get the sword to move right._

I stood on the practice court with Kash. He had agreed to help me in my training sometimes. I think he regretted it though. Or maybe it amused him. Whatever he felt about it, it was mortifying for me.

He feinted toward my shoulder just like I thought he would, then his sword slashed down toward my knees. I moved my sword downward in an attempt to parry his strike, but I couldn't move the sword easily enough to get it in place in time. Kash's blunt practice sword tapped hard on the side of my left knee.

I jumped back quickly trying to avoid more pain.

_Damn I hate this._ I cursed silently. I could feel sweat on my back and shoulders. The sun was hot. I was doing terribly. But I refused to just give up on it. If I didn't learn how to become at least capable in this then I probably wouldn't last very long if I got separated from people again.

Besides I was a stubborn bitch about lots of things, and I refused to not be able to do this at least a little bit right.

Kash was waiting for my signal to continue. I clenched my teeth and swung hard at him. He parried easily. Our swords clanged together hard; I had enough strength in my arms, especially with the bow training, but I couldn't seem to move the sword right.

I shifted and moved to hit Kash at his right knee. It was a point he seemed to leave open sometimes. It was open now. I went for it.

But I fumbled, unable to turn my arms the right way to get past his sword and hit him. He parried me easily. This time instead of just stopping me, he attacked me in turn, hitting my sword hard. The impact jarred through my arms. He twisted our swords hard, and mine flew from my hands.

It landed about five feet from me. I heard the soft thud as it sank blade first into the ground. Once it was down, I dropped to the ground too.

I sat there in the hot sun and sighed. Why was I so bad at this. I was flexible, so why couldn't I be flexible with a sword?

"I think you're doing better." Yuri offered helpfully. She reached down and offered me her hand. I sighed and let her help me up. Yuri had been practicing too when she got the time. She hadn't been allowed to practice with swords or other weapons for the last half of her pregnancy, so she wouldn't hurt the baby. But now she was fit again and wanted to keep her skills sharp.

It was smart to keep practicing even if you were great at something. I'm sure even people like King and General practiced sometime or other. Probably not General though; he was probably so arrogant that he thought he didn't need to practice.

I was back to really hating him instead of just feeling bad for him. The jackass had come to more than one of my practice sessions and continued to mock me. Now he also was able to mock me about my horrible sword skills and my mediocre archery.

"I guess he only hit me about fifty times today instead of a hundred." I remarked about my workout with Kash while dusting off my blue jeans. I couldn't work out in a tight dress, but I didn't want to wear a mini-toga thing like Yuri, so I was wearing blue jeans. It was ok though. I was used to working in blue jeans a lot. This pair was good and broken-in, so it wasn't tight or restricting.

Yuri tried not to laugh, but it was close. I wasn't mad at her. I was beginning to realize that no matter how hard I tried, I was gonna suck at this. I hated the idea of giving up. I did not want to. But...

"Tell me the truth, do I use a sword like I cook?" I asked looking directly at Hadi who had come to help Yuri.

Hadi looked both very amused at my lack of skill and somewhat nervous about the idea of my cooking.

"I believe the level of skill in each area it the same." she said seriously. Kash was biting back his laughter, and Yuri was smiling. I grunted.

"Ok then. The sword wins this fight. You know what they say about swords anyway. Live by the sword, die by the sword. And I'd rather die by chocolate."

Yuri giggled, and I bent over backward to stretch my muscles. I wasn't gonna play with the sword anymore.

I wanted a new challenge. And I had an idea just what that challenge would be.

Grinning happily and putting my hair into a braid I began a fast walk towards the stable. Kash, Yuri and Hadi followed wondering what I was up to.

There was a large pen by the stables where it seemed like someone could bring horses to train or perhaps simply walk around. Right now it was empty which was exactly what I wanted.

"Can I ride a horse for a while?" I asked going inside the stable. Yuri shrugged and looked around. Things weren't busy. She didn't think it would hurt for me to just ride around for a while.

"Sure. Go ahead."

"_Any_ horse?" I asked trying to be very clear. Yuri raised an eyebrow at me, but she nodded.

"Oh _goody_." I laughed clapping. I ran inside and grabbed some nice tack. Yuri and the others looked at each other with some nervousness between them. What was I up to? They were probably scared to find out.

I walked to a very particular stall and looked at the occupant. This was something I had been wanting to do since I got here. It was stupid of course. _Very_ stupid and somewhat dangerous, but that was why it was fun.

"Now. I don't wanna go on a five-mile run. We're just gonna go out into the pen there and see what happens. If you wanna run fast, that's fine. If you wanna throw me off, go ahead and it. Just don't kill me on purpose ok?" I said clearly to the horse in the stall, as if I was speaking to a person.

Aslan lifted his head and flicked his ears forward to listen to me. He seemed surprised that I was talking to him so much like a person, but I knew he was smart. Maybe not really smart, but I was weird, so I wanted to tell him what I wanted anyway. What he really seemed surprised about though was that I was holding up tack and asking him if I could ride him.

I don't honestly know if he understood any of what I said, but he stepped to the side of the stall giving me room to come in and saddle him.

I grinned happily. I loved horses. I _really_ loved the fast, fun, wild ones like him.

I saddled him with no problem. He watched me really carefully though, probably making sure that I was doing it right. Once he was saddled, I stepped out of the stall and lightly took the lead reigns. I wasn't so stupid to think that he was just gonna let me lead him around. So instead I moved forward and waited to see if he was going to come along. He did.

Everyone's jaw dropped when I came out of the stables with Aslan.

"Kiara! What are you thinking?" Yuri demanded. I shrugged.

"I just wanna see what happens." I answered as if I was talking about something as simple as blue being the color of the sky.

"You just got healed, and now you want to kill yourself again?" Hadi asked sounded shocked.

"He won't hurt me on purpose. He just likes to play." I said patting Aslan's neck. The big horse snorted as if to say that I was being an idiot in this, but he would let me. Why wouldn't he? He liked Yuri and no one else dared to try him, so he hadn't had anyone to throw off lately. He was probably pretty bored with no one to challenge like that.

"Think about this, you don't have to do something so reckless." Yuri pleaded.

"You know, I really wish I had a pair of good boots." I remarked. Then ignoring the protests, I quickly swung up into the saddle.

Aslan shifted under me. I think he was testing me, trying to see how I sat, and how I would ride. And how he could most easily toss me twenty feet over.

I nudged the big horse over to the pen quickly before he started our game early.

People had already noticed that someone other than Yuri was trying to ride Aslan. They had come to watch. There were some warnings and calls to get off the horse; there were also encouragements. I heard bets being placed. Somethings don't change even after centuries, but I had figured that out already.

I could feel the big horse beneath me tensing up. He wasn't gonna wait very long. I wasn't the person he accepted as his rider and master; he wasn't gonna lower himself for me forever. And I didn't want him to. Not unless I was good enough for him.

Think its weird to act like horses are people who need respect? Well stopping thinking that way. There's a reason people have used horses for thousands of years. They're pretty damn smart, and they deserve a lot of respect. And horses like Aslan demanded that respect or else they caused problems. _Lots_ of problems.

"Ok big boy. Show me what you got." I muttered to the horse. One black ear flicked back toward me listening to what I said.

It took three seconds. In that time we were both very tense and the people watching us were nervous or excited. I was both.

Then he bucked hard.

My body snapped around as he tried to throw me. I clenched my knees into him and gripped tightly on the reigns. He bucked again and twisted around wildly. He was determined to get me off of him. I wasn't gonna make it easy on him.

I held tight. This was a hard game to play. You had to hold on with a vice-like grip, but you also had to be flexible or you would break when the horse danced around like this.

In the midst of my mind, while I was focusing on staying in the saddle, I was also counting. I was counting the passing seconds. The amount of time in which I had stayed on this wild stallion's back.

Aslan screeched loudly and threw his back legs hard into the air.

I lost my grip and flew into the air over his head.

I rolled once in the air before I hit the ground. On the ground, I bounced a little and rolled over again.

I laid on my back looking up at the sky. I heard people shouting in concern and worry. Some people were cheering though in excitement.

Then I laughed.

I laughed _so_ hard. My arms held onto my sides tightly as I laughed. My laughing so hard was hurting more than the ache in my back now. Tears rolled out of my eyes, and I was shaking from laughter and from lack of air.

I managed to calm down after a minute.

_7 seconds. Just short of winning the game. _I thought both gleefully and ruefully.

Back home on the ranch, lots of my friends, and I had loved to ride a bucking horse or a wild bull. To stay on for eight seconds was considered a victory. It was something I loved. Something I was good at. Something I hadn't done in years and had missed. I had wanted to try Aslan. He was just the type of horse to try and ride like that. I was glad I had done it. I was glad I had gotten on him even if I got thrown off.

I smiled brightly up at the cloudless sky. Aslan walked over. His head hung over mine as he looked down at me with large brown eyes.

He snorted down at me as if to tell me I was a fool. His warm breath blew at my face and bangs. I blew back up at him. I didn't mind getting thrown. It was been fun. A rush. A thrill. I loved it. I reached up carefully and patted Aslan on his nose. He let me for a moment before snorting at me again and walking away.

I smiled as I sat up stretching my arms up high.

It was fun. It was like home, like old times.

It was _me_.

* * *

**I know. No Ramses in this. :( makes me sad too, but i promise he's heavily featured in my next little plot twist. :D let all the fan girls scream happily! me included! XD**


	40. In Which Kiara Learns To Fly

**I'M NOT DEAD! XD**

I'm real sorry though. Well, a little sorry anyway. I needed a break from the writing so I took one. What I'm sorry about is that it took so long to get writing again. I do have a few excuses though: I gotz a summer job again, I'm still doing some school stuff :( ,and I've not felt like writing much.

But here is a new chapter and it starts our next little story plot. This one will be fun. XD So keep an eye out for more updates I promise to really try and keep them coming this time. On Mondays now cause I don't work on Mondays. ;)

And Happy 4th of July! Yeah fireworks and hotdogs and all that fun stuff. XD

I do not own Red River or any of its characters! I own Kiara and my fun/weird little dramatic plot twists!

Oh! Almost forgot! I drew some pictures of Kiara so y'all can see what she looks like. They are on Deviantart and my channel is "EverdayDreaming". I'll put a link to the place on my profile. I'll probably be uploading more pictures there as well as posting journal entries about how the writing and such is coming along. :) So keep an eye out for all that too k?

* * *

**Chapter 40: In Which Kiara Learns to Fly While She's Bored**

He watched her from his position in the shade of a large tree by the palace wall. Kiara was currently out in the stable pen again. She was still the only one there. She was currently moving some barrels around inside the pen.

Ramses watched wondering what she was up to now. He had heard about her flying adventure with Aslan. That bit of news had gotten around somewhat easily that morning. Now it was late afternoon, and Kiara was still in the stable area doing strange things, and Ramses wasn't the only who had come to watch. There were quite a few people lounging around the pen and surrounding garden watching to see what would happen. They were all curious about this woman and her strange habits.

Ramses wondered if Kiara knew how much attention she was receiving gossip-wise these days. She was close to the royal children and had saved them on more than one occasion. She had also become friends with the Queen of late. She ruined any food she helped prepare, and she risked life and health trying to ride the Queen's horse. Even her appearance was very different. And not just her brown hair and blue eyes, her clothing was strange. She wore some kind of leggings and a small shirt that was bright pink and ended at her hips.

Ramses didn't listen to the gossip much, but he was still curious about the woman. She was entertaining in this boring place. He wondered about her clothes, about her strange words and phrases. He was very curious about her upbringing. What kind of woman could not cook or sew, but only fight hand-to-hand and ride horses? It would be something to do; figuring it all out.

* * *

I paced out the distance between the three barrels I had put in the pen. When they were about the right distances from each other I walked back over to Aslan.

I was a little surprised the black horse was still willing to play with me, but I think he was impressed. After all I had stayed on his back for 7 whole seconds and then instead of becoming mad I'd simply wanted to try again.

The second time he threw me off in 5 seconds. I think he cheated somehow. I really do.

Anyway, we weren't playing the 'throw-Kiara-onto-the-ground' game anymore. Now we were going to run around the barrels.

"We're just gonna go around those barrels as fast as possible." I told Aslan patting his neck. His ears flicked back and forth, and he glanced at me before snorting. I was no where near his favorite person, but he liked to go fast. Plus I think he enjoyed having the chance to show off. There were people watching us, so he was happy to cooperate a little. And I think he wanted to throw me off some more, and he couldn't do that if I wasn't on his back.

"Ok, we'll walk it first." I got up onto the stallion's back and settled myself into the saddle. These saddles were very different from the ones I had grown up with, but it was better than bareback at this point. You don't ride bareback on a horse that wants you on the ground.

I nudged Aslan forward, and we made the circuit around the barrels. We circled each barrel once then came back to the starting point. For good measure I made him walk it again, so he wouldn't be confused.

"You ready?" I asked looking down at the horse. I heard bets being made by the fence again. Something about me flying into the air in another ten seconds. I ignored it.

Aslan pawed at the ground more than ready to get going. I took a deep breath. I was either about to go flying, or we would run those barrels good and fast.

I tapped his flanks as a signal, and he took off like a bullet.

I held on tight and angled my body as we rounded the first barrel. Aslan clipped the barrel's side, but it didn't fall. We rounded the second barrel and then the third and all barrels were still standing.

We ran back to the starting point, and I laughed loudly with the rush.

I threw my hands up into the air and shouted out happily. I had counted 35 seconds. Not bad for a horse doing this for the first time and for a rider who hadn't barrel-raced in about two years.

I sighed with a smile. _I missed this more than I though. When I get back to 'the-world-with-cookies' __I'm gonna make sure I spend at least three months back on the ranch with the horses._

Time for leisurely thought was over. Aslan didn't like standing still much, and he had gone for too long with someone other than Yuri on his back. Without any type of warning, he bucked hard throwing his back legs up into the air.

Completely unprepared, I flew over the horse's head with a yelp. I managed to hold my arms out when I hit the ground to help break my fall and protect my head. I still hit my head and then rolled over onto my back and then I was sitting up again.

I shook my head dizzy and confused. Then with a soft curse I massage my poor head. I hadn't hurt my neck; that was good, but my head still hurt.

I glared over at Aslan accusingly. "You coulda warned me!" I snapped annoyed. People were exchanging money on the bets they had made. And some people were laughing too. I stood up carefully, trying not to antagonize any of my new bruises. I walked over to Aslan.

He had apparently decided he had enough of me. Instead of letting me take his reigns, he pranced away and gave a big snort. Glaring at the horse I marched over again, only to again have him wander away from me.

I sighed annoyed. Chasing him was not going to work and I would only look foolish. Well, more foolish. I knew I was already becoming a big joke/comedy to the court around here. I wasn't sure I cared very much though. I was going home soon. I had to be. I didn't need to be popular in 'The-Land-Before-_My-_Time'. These people weren't going to be voting me any movie/album awards, so I didn't need to earn their approval.

But, it was a little uncomfortable knowing I was a complete joke here.

O_h well. I can fix my pride when I go home. I'll ask Connie to get me one of those bitchy-girl parts in a movie or a TV show or something. Play a self-centered bitch and being loved for it is always a confidence boost. Everyone loves a good villain-ness. _I smiled to myself.

"Well if you wanna stay all tacked up all day then that's fine with me." I said loudly putting my hands on my hips and staring the big black stallion straight in the eye. "But I'm gonna go in now. So figure out what you want and hurry up with it will you?"

Aslan threw his head up and snorted at me again. He then turned and showed me his large rump. After flicking his tail at me, he pranced off towards the stables like a prize pony prancing in a show ring.

I sighed and followed the mule-headed horse to the stable and found him in his stall waiting for me as if it had been his intention to come here all along no matter what I had said to him.

I didn't bother to scold him as I took hold of his tack and rubbed him down, brushing out his mane and flanks and making sure he was well taken care of. It wasn't _my_ job to discipline the stubborn horse. He wasn't my horse. I had simply decided to try and ride him today. That made me an idiot, but it didn't make me responsible for him and his rude horsie manners.

After I cleaned off both the horse and his tack and put everything away, I left the stables and stood in the bright sunshine for a moment. I stretched my arms up and then twisted around to loosen my back. I could already tell that I was going to be very stiff in the morning. It hurt quite a lot when a mean horse throws you way up into the air.

No that was wrong. It doesn't hurt when the mean horse throws you in the air. It hurts when you come back down onto the ground. That's what hurts quite a lot. And I meant it when I said it hurt.

_No use complaining about it. I knew what was more than likely to happen when I got on the horse. I shouldn't cry and have a fit now. It was my own fault after all._

Although I could place a bit of blame on Aslan too.

I left the stables and stood in the sun looking around. Most of the people who had watched as Aslan taught me to fly had left. I guess they no longer had a reason to stay once I put the horse away.

I sighed and stretched my back. It wasn't too annoying that people had been placing bets on my stupid ideas, but it was a little uncomfortable. Deciding to just let it go I went off in search of something new to do.

I no longer had a specific palace job. I hadn't been able to watch the royal kids while I was on bed rest, so that job had been given to someone else. And no one had given me a job since I had gotten better. I wasn't sure why they weren't making me work again like they had before, but I figured they just didn't want me to re-injure myself quite yet. Or maybe they thought I should simply be relaxing? Whatever it was, I didn't have a job, so I had some free time to fill now.

As I went towards the palace I saw something very interesting.

King was outside with Ilvani, Kikkuri and Kash. That wasn't so interesting in itself since King moved around a lot, and those three were often with him. But the one other person who was standing there made it quite interesting.

King and General were staring at each other both barely hiding glares as they talked about something.

I was naturally seized with the urge to know what they were talking about. If they were around each other at all it meant that something had or was going on.

So like the Cat that Curiosity killed, I moved over to join the little group.

They stopped talking when they noticed me move alongside their little group. King and his group looked slightly surprised to see me while General looked bored.

"Whatcha doing?" I asked in a sing-song voice.

"It's nothing that would interest you Kiara. Only dull political nonsense." King said in an attempt to wave me off. It didn't work well. I wasn't as much as an airhead as I let these people think, and I was sure that whatever they were talking about wasn't very dull at all. And if it was then I'd just leave.

"Oh but I'm sure nothing you do is ever truly dull. You seem too important to waste time on dull things." I flattered brightly. I don't think he bought my flattery, but he muse have seen that I didn't want to leave yet.

"Oh, but he may waste time in personally informing someone of their imminent departure from his castle." General spoke up with some annoyance in his voice.

I frowned a little confused. Obviously from the way he spoke it was General who was being told to leave. Was King getting rid of General already? I knew they didn't like each other, but I hadn't heard of General doing anything to annoy King very much. Maybe I just hadn't heard about it though and something had happened. That was possible.

_So is there going to be a new liaison from Egypt? Maybe this new one won't be such an annoying fat-head._ I thought with a little glee. In the back of my mind I was a little disappointed though. Why was that? I didn't bother to think about it for now. It wasn't a strong feeling, so it must not have mattered anyway.

"Oh? Someone is leaving? Can I ask why?" I inquired politely.

I saw King shoot General a glare which General of course returned. The King looked at me with a soft inaudible sigh.

"General Ramses will be leaving our company for a few weeks. He has business to take charge of, and after that he will be rejoining us." King said clearly. He was clearly unhappy with it as well. He would have been much happier I'm sure if General had business that would take him away for many years.

"So where's he going?" I asked feeling a little curious. I was a little bored with the conversation now though. He was going to be coming back was the point. I was depressed at the idea. Damn. He would be coming back to bother me again, and I'd have to live with his insufferable—admittedly hot—face.

The disappointment at the idea of his returning was offset just the tiniest, _tiny_ bit with relief and happiness. Again I wondered why I would feel that way at all but also again, it was a such a tiny emotion so it obviously didn't matter, and I didn't have to think about it right now.

"He'll be going back to a city in Egypt." King said offhandedly. It was obvious that he didn't like talking about General very much.

Egypt. _Egypt_.

The name ran around in my head buzzing its way through and shoving absolutely everything else out of its way. I had thought General would be going to some boring city somewhere to talk with someone about some matter for his Pharaoh.

But he was going to _Egypt_.

I blinked. And then I blinked again.

Egypt.

"Why is he going!" I asked loudly. I didn't wait for an answer, it wasn't an important question anyway; the next question had a lot more importance to my mind. "Is he going alone?"

King looked surprised at my question. Could he tell how suddenly excited I was?

"He'll be traveling with some of his own people and—"

"Can I go?" I asked loudly.

King looked quite startled, and so did the others around him. Ilvani looked at me with a cool calculating look, Kash and Kikkuri seemed very surprised and General...well he looked displeased with the idea, but the displeasure wasn't too obvious on his face. It was in the tightness of his jaw and the coolness of his eyes.

"Why do you wish to go?" King asked evenly.

"I want to go there. To Egypt. I just want to see what its like." I said matter-oh-factly. I tried to keep my excitement and anxiousness in check. I didn't want to seem so overly-eager. Even though I was.

"Why?" King asked narrowing his eyes a little. He obvious didn't understand. I suppose he had seen Egypt before. He had won a war against Egypt. Plus, he had lived his life parallel to Egypt. Its wonders and greatness would be less extreme for him than for someone who had lived hearing only myths and pieces of the ancient civilization's fabulous history.

"Because I just want to see. I've heard a lot about it, so I want to see what its like for myself. I've seen Hattusa, now I want to see Egypt." I said trying to sound practical.

"If you go you'll be quite bored. The General will be busy taking care of his responsibilities, and you'll have nothing to do, and despite what you might believe, you would be unable to go anywhere on your own." King said trying to convince me that I didn't want to go. It wasn't working.

"Maybe, but I still want to go. It's not like there's tons of stuff for me to do here." I said pleading a little.

King opened his mouth to protest some more, but for the first time General spoke his opinion on the matter.

"I don't see any reason why she cannot come along."

We all turned to look at him. I was surprised as everyone else. I knew he didn't like me. Why was he trying to help me? Why was he putting me and him together and around each other when we didn't have to be?

General had his arms crossed over his chest, and he was smirking at King with a defiant glint in his eyes and smirk. "If she wants to come so badly then you might as well let her. Besides, what talk it would cause if people were to hear that the goddess wasn't allowed to go to her country."

King was tense as he stared at General. I heard what General said and some of it didn't make sense and I would be sure to ask about it later but right now I was still trying to understand why he was helping me. He couldn't possibly want me to come with him could he?

Then it dawned on me. King didn't want me to go for some reason. General was trying to let me come along simply cause it would annoy King.

I felt a little weird about that. I was just being used as a tool to annoy someone else.

But it didn't matter much. I wasn't fond of either of these people, so what they thought of me wasn't too important. And I would be going home at some point. But first, I was going to _Egypt_. No matter for what reason, I would be going, and being there was being there.

King didn't say anything for a moment, and I could tell that he was thinking through it hard. Then with narrowed eyes and a cool voice he announced:

"She may leave with you. But that means that she is under your care and protection. Be sure to watch after her." King then turned and left along with his little group of followers. I stood there stunned for a moment. General watched King as he strode away for a moment then sighed.

I was going. I was really going to get to go. I had questions and concerns, but I was _going_.

I smiled brightly and stretched my arms up high above my head and grinned up at the sun.

_**Yes**_! Was all I could think as I let the sun beam down on me. Soon I would be feeling the heat of Egypt's sun. it would of course be the same sun, but it seemed like it would be different at the same time.

_Egypt_.

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**So there's the chapter that has taken forever to get done. Seriously, this one was annoying as heck to write cause the first half is just boring, working up to stuff mess. I needed to have it there in order to lead up to fun stuff but it was annoying to write. -_- Anyway, another chapter for you next week, PLEASE review! I want to know I still have readers and whether or not you guys hate me for leaving for weeks.**


	41. On A Boat

**Here's the update! Wow! I still have readers! And reviewers! Thanks so much everyone for your support it really means a lot. I promise to try and keep uploading often, and I won't stop writing till its done even if that takes me forever with my laziness so no one has to worry about that. Everyone is excited about Egypt coming up, and truthfully I am too. It's gonna be a turning point in our story so it'll be fun to see what happens.**

**Dana**: Thanks for your awesome review and nice words, I'm glad to see a review from someone who has been with this story since close to its beginning.

**wordsworth99**: Thanks so much for your review! It made me really happy and smile. I'm glad that you like my story so much and I hope I keep up to your expectations.

**unknown**: I don't hate you at all, in fact I love your reviews. They are always very insightful and I love that. Plus I know about having internet problems and no internet/computer access so I completely understand that. Yes Kiara is a very playful person, she's very childlike and that was shown off pretty well in the last chapter. And as for her surprise about Ramses's helping her, a bit more of their 'relationship' gets shown in this chapter.

**A big thanks to my Beta and I mean a HUGE GIANT THANKS TO HER!** She pointed out not only some grammar problems but also a character problem and I rewrite a small section and honestly I'm glad I did cause I like it soooo much better this way, so THANK YOU SO MUCH my Beta! You are awesome!

**And now for the chapter, (if you even bothered to read the A/N) and this chapter comes with a small warning, this is a T rated story, so consider it like a PG-13 movie, there's gonna be cuss words sometimes, and very colorful conversations. Not little kid appropriate but then why would a little kid have read Red River anyway? :D**

**Enjoy!**

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**41: On A Boat**

I stood on the deck of the boat and looked out as we sailed. I could see the rolling waves and some large birds in the air. The water was dark and cloudy and probably cold despite the hot sun up above. I wasn't sure, I hadn't been swimming yet.

I had been standing here silently for a while. I wasn't sure how I felt at the moment. I was actually kinda numb I think. The sun was hot on my skin, and the air was sharp and salty, stinging my face, but I felt a little numb.

I hadn't been on a boat in a while. A long while. So it had taken me a while to get used to the constant swaying again. But that wasn't really bothering me. I was anxious. Now that I was on my way, it had set in. What I had gotten myself into. I was on my way to a completely foreign country, one that was basically a whole other world to mine, and I was going alone. This time I wouldn't even have a semi-friendly King and Queen to understand and help me. I mean Yuri had been really nice to hang around lately, but she wasn't here. No one I knew was here to help me.

Except for one person. And even though I knew him, he wasn't here to help me. He hardly even wanted me here.

**Flashback**:

"_You really are an irritation. Now I have to bring you along and keep you well." General said with a loud sigh after King and his friends had left. I turned to look at General with a frown._

"_Then why did you push him into letting me go?" I snapped even though I was sure I already knew the reason._

"_Simply because it would bother Him. But it's a problem because I think it bothers me even more." Without another word he had turned and walked away._

**End Flashback**

_He doesn't always have to be so obvious about his annoyance in me. I'm _not_ the person he's mad at. I'm just within firing range._ I sighed. I had gotten packed up, and we had left to the somewhat repaired docks the next day. After a few hours, we were shipped out and on our way to Egypt. I hadn't felt anxious until seven days into our journey. That was two days ago. It had dawned on me after the excitement wore off a little that I was going to be completely alone and almost unwanted. If I did anything stupid or got into any trouble, I would have practically no way out of it.

_I'll just have...to wait and see I guess. _I shook my head not wanting to stay morbid or unhappy. I was going to a place that people wondered and made up fantastic legends about. Egypt was a mystery that practically everyone wondered about at some point in their lives. And _I _was going to go see it. That should make me feel better.

And it was starting to, until Mr "You're-a-complete-annoyance-to-me" decided to show up.

General walked up until he was standing beside me. I only glanced at him to see who it was, and then I turned away again.

"What were you talking about before? With King? You left before I could ask you." I questioned before he had a chance to say something demeaning of me.

He leaned beside me onto the railing of the boat and was silent for a moment trying to remember what it was that he had said.

"About the goddess and her country?" I pressed. I had been wondering about it for a while but hadn't asked for many reasons. One, I didn't want to talk to General too much since he criticized me so often. Two, I was somewhat afraid of what the reason for his comment would be.

General smirked a little and glanced at me from the corner of his eyes.

"So you haven't been paying attention to the rumors about you?" He said with a slight chuckle. I didn't see why that was so funny. Unless those rumors were really terrible, and I should know what was in them.

"I stopped listening to what people say about me when I got famous. Its gets in your head, freaks you out, and it'll make you crazy." I shrugged. Of course sometimes it was good to know the gossip. Sometimes it was important to know what was being said about you or the people around you, but mostly I ignored the crap people said of each other.

"Perhaps, but in Egypt you might find it harder to ignore. They will be anxious to see you if the rumors have reached them already, which they undoubtedly have."

"And what rumors exactly are they shouting about now?" I asked feeling a little apprehensive. General smirked in a way that showed he took delight in my nervousness.

"You have earned a goddess's name." He said lightly as if I was supposed to be happy about that.

Instead I felt alarmed. They had called me a goddess before. Somewhat anyway. But now they actually had picked out a goddess that I was supposed to signify? This was ridiculous! I was _nothing_ like a goddess! Maybe I was a fantastic international pop-movie star, but I wasn't a goddess by any stretch of the imagination!

"What name!" I asked loudly trying to keep from going hysterical.

"There are two actually; the people apparently can't decide whether you are Bast, or Isis." he shrugged his shoulders and looked out towards the water. His smirk had dimmed down, and now he had his usual cool indifferent look on his face.

_Bast? _ISIS_? What, the hell? _I groaned loudly and hung my head down. It was too much. Too much stupidity and randomness and wrongness and insensible-ness.

"Why?" I asked in a mournful voice.

"Why Bast and Isis, or why Egyptian?" he specified. I shrugged.

"Either. Both. Just why?" I asked more to myself now.

Both Bast and Isis were Egyptian goddesses. Bast, or Bastet, was more well known in modern times for being the 'cat goddess' when in fact she was also a protector, a patron of music and dance, and originally a Lion goddess. She was the protector of pharaoh; his bodyguard so to speak, and somewhat or a war-goddess.

Isis was a similar goddess but even more pronounced. She was the mother-goddess of Egypt as well as the protector of children, nobles, and slaves, and the ideal wife. She was a queen having been married to a Pharaoh-god and had compassion for all the people from rich to poor.

_So I'm either a queen or a cat? I don't see how that works out at all._

"I believe they chose these two names because of your recent adventure at the docks." Ramses said with another small shrug.

_At the docks..._ I briefly thought about that, but then I pushed it away. But I knew what he must be talking about.

"Because I helped those people? Because I tried to save them?" I asked with a sigh. So I had done the right thing, and now I was going to be stared at and pestered into being some fake goddess pretender?

"You protected those people. Bast and Isis are protectors. It's even very well known that you constantly keep watch over the young Crown Prince. You protect him, and you care for him as a mother would. Isis is a mother as well as a protector."

"Well that all makes sense a _little_, but why Egyptian gods anyway? And why Isis at all? Deiru isn't my son. I'm not a mother nor a queen."

"I think they chose Egyptian gods for you because of the water. You jumped in and out of the water as if you lived in it. The Hittite empire is land-locked with no true cities on the water, yet Egypt had flourished along the Nile and has a large navy. Therefore, if you were a goddess well at ease with the water, it would make more sense for you to have come from a country with heavy water connections."

He was very good at explaining things. Probably because he was Egyptian and could easily make sense of their gods, whereas everything I knew of gods came from 3000 years from now and was all muddled together.

"As for you not being royal, you are a friend to the queen of Hattusa and a care-taker to her son the Crown prince. Hattusa's queen herself is hailed as a goddess. Even if you are not royalty yourself, you have strong connection to it."

I noticed how he avoided saying Yuri's name, but I didn't say anything about it.

"So I know big people, so what? I'm not a goddess at all; much less a queen one." I protested.

"Perhaps, but you suit Bast even less in my mind." General said with a quick glance at me before turning away again.

"What's that supposed to mean?" I asked blinking. If I had to pick one of the two it would have been Bast since she wasn't a queen or ideal wife/mother.

"You are missing some of the finer qualities of Bast." he said it in such a straightforward way, as if it should be obvious.

"Like what?" I was curious, and not curious. Who knew what he would say? His face was so clear at the moment. Like we were talking about something as boring and monotone as the weather.

"Bast is a goddess of dance and immense pleasure."

I frowned. I could dance; I was good at dancing. Not that he had seen me, but the pleasure?

"What are you talking about?" I asked frowning at him. We were just talking about protecting people and mothers and royalty. Where was he going with this? Although, I had a _bad_ feeling that...

"Bast is a goddess of dancing that is erotic and sensual, and immense pleasure such as sex."

I flinched. Or maybe it was more of a jump. But I flinched—or jumped—and then I turned to stare at him with wide shocked eyes.

_What the hell? Did he just say that? And like that? _He had just thrown that information out there like it was nothing! Like talking about sex was nothing for him! Well he may think that way since he's a arrogant, apparently _perverted_ playboy! But I wasn't so public and open with things like that! I'm not a prude, but this is not a conversation to have in the middle of the day, on the deck of a boat, with the tone of someone who is talking about something as trivial as the fact that the sky is blue!

_What's with him! He's just standing there and looking bored and indifferent at the same time!_

"Where do you get off saying stuff like that! You can't just say stuff like that!" I shouted at him irritated. It didn't help that I could feel my face turning five shades of red.

"I didn't think it was anything extreme to say. And its completely true; Bast is very much a sensual goddess among her other aspects." he shrugged as if it were nothing important.

I blushed even more. Was I as red as Bob the Tomato yet?

"So? You still don't have to say things like that!" I scolded him loudly.

"You were the one who asked the question."

_Wait! What? What question..._

"What the hell do you mean I'm nothing like that! You don't think I could be a Bast! I can dance very well you idiot!" I shouted feeling outraged that he was belittling me again and without any sound reasoning this time! I was a fabulous dancer!

He raised an eyebrow at me in question. "It wasn't your dancing that I doubted." he answered bluntly.

If it wasn't dancing then...

"_Sex_? Your don't think I could be Bast because of _sex_? _Why?_! Am I not pretty enough for someone to want to sleep with me? Or do you not think I would be any good at it!"

I slapped both hands over my mouth.

Had I just _said_ that! Had I just _screamed_ that out _loud_ for the whole _world_ to hear! Oh gosh what was _wrong_ with me!

Why had I even said that? What did it matter? Why did I care what he thought of me! Why did it matter if he thought I was attractive or not? Why did I care if he thought I was not sexy?

I hate him!

And he just stood there looking at me with no emotion other than that indifferent, cool attitude of his.

I _hate_ him!

"You damn perverted man! Is that all you men think about? Stuff like that? You big jerk!" I shouted loudly at him. I felt very flustered and incredibly embarrassed and absolutely outraged! I ran away from the railing, away from this damn jerk who said and implied such obscene comments about me. I ran back into the small quarters and rooms that housed the people on board the ship.

I quickly made it into my own small room and slammed the door loudly and huffed angrily. My face was on fire from my embarrassment, and my head was reeling. I couldn't believe what he had just said! And what I had said! What the _hell_ had made me say that?

_Well, he might be the only person I'm going to know in Egypt, but I don't want anything to do with a pervert like him! _I growled to myself. Then I sighed loudly and sat on the couch. I was suddenly tired and really only wanted a nap. At least I could fall asleep and forget this whole stupid conversation for a while. And when I woke up, I wasn't going to talk to that man in the least! I didn't want to have anything to do with him from now until ever! The jerk!

* * *

Ramses stood on the deck after Kiara had run away. He was chuckling at the embarrassed and appalled look on her face, and the way she had jumped and run from him. He may not like the girl, but she was really quite fun to tease.

He had remained indifferent and aloof while she was here, but now that she was gone he could openly laugh at her antics.

He couldn't believe what she had said. The little minx. The outrage in her eyes when she had accused him of thinking her undesirable was quite amusing. Yes, she was quite entertaining if nothing else.

Still smirking at the memory of her shocked and angry blue eyes, he turned back out to look at the rolling waves and the bright blue sky.

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**A/N:** Not what anyone was expecting huh? Poor Kiara. XD Ramses is very mean. But so that conversation is what I meant about this story being PG-13. I'm gonna say right now that it might get worse than that. I haven't decided. At some point I'm actually going to get to the romance part of this story and then things will be a more adult less child-like. But I will not ever write a lemon! I don't write Lemons! I am a prude! Lol not really, but I won't write lemons. Not to say that things won't be suggested, but as I said before, PG-13 movie. There's suggestions and glimmers but no real 'stuff'. XD

And now that I'm done rambling like an idiot, **REVIEW PLEASE!**


	42. Egypt

**Here's the update!**

**Aiel-chan**: Yes Kiara should kick him for that and they probably will have a cage-match at somepoint. And I didn't say who the romance would be between did I? ;D Don't worry, you'll know it when you see it and it's not far from happening.

**xXMistressMadHatterXx**: I did in fact make a Veggie Tales reference. XD Ramses so far isn't confused with his thinking about Kiara a lot cause he doesn't see any problem with how he's thinking of her. He's not thinking of her as someone to be romantically interested in only someone to laugh at and pick on so he doesn't have any problem with thinking about her yet. Plus as was mentioned before, she reminds him of Yuri so that in his mind also explains a little of why he thinks about her at all.

**Kiriyuu69**: You think Ramses will pounce on Kiara? lol. I don't think Ramses is the 'pouncing' type. He's more like the lion that stalks his victim before going in for the kill XD

**Azure Ryukiba**: I know, I feel bad for Kiara too having to be stuck with Ramses when he acts like that.

Also, I've posted another picture of Kiara on my Deviantart page. It's a prettier picture of her and it fits into this chapter so check it out! The link to my Deviant page is in my profile.

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**41: Egypt**

The boat came in sight of Egypt 2 days later. Ramses stood at the rail of the ship and looked out at the land that he had always known.

Egypt was his home. His life was here in Egypt, and he loved it. He loved the heat of the sun and sand. He loved the smell of the large and impressive Nile. He loved the obelisks, the pyramids, the great stone statues and hieroglyphs which spoke of the past in such detail and the superiority of this great Empire. He had a great fondness for the people of Egypt. They were proud and strong. They should be. They survived hard extremely hot summers of full heat, and the deadly nature of the desert with its vipers and other poisons. They lived along the Nile, which was harsh as it was nurturing in that it was filled with crocodiles that were ever lurking and waiting for another meal. Yes, the people of Egypt faced hardship everyday, and they survived it. No, they did more than that. Egypt flourished despite its adversity.

Except that in recent years, new troubles had risen to attack Egypt. Weak nobles and greedy women and priests were destroying the once mighty nation. The people were no longer so proud. They were bent and broken under the whips of incompetent leaders.

The problems of his beloved country made Ramses's mood turn sour. But at least out here at the edge of the empire there were less traces of the corruption. The great works of art that showed the strength and cunning of the Egyptians stood tall. The beautifully made temples and statues withstood the harsh weather and the effects of time. The palm trees swayed in the warm breeze, and the sky was a clear bright blue. The strong salty, musky smell of the Nile filled the air. He could feel the strength of Egypt here. The determination it had to survive despite the cruel weather and terrible rulers. Egypt would survive, and he would do everything in his power to ensure that.

As he watched the land slip by with the steady forward motion of the ship, he thought of all the problems of the empire. It was being torn apart by people who were either too greedy or too stupid to notice. In a few generations nothing would be left of what used to be the most powerful empire in the world. It would be reduced to nothing as the greedy men and women with power fought to gain everything for themselves.

He seemed to be the only who cared anymore. He seemed to be the only person who cared what happened to Egypt and not just what happened to his treasury. He had found no one else who seemed to love his country the way he did. Disregard love, he had seen no one else who even had compassion or empathy for the well-being of the country and its people as a whole. He could not even find understanding in a person much less something like 'love'.

_No man or woman left seems to give a care about anything less than themselves. None show any concern for anything beyond their purses. They have no emotion left for the people or the land. _Ramses thought brooding unhappy.

"_Wow_." a soft sigh filtered through his thoughts even though it was so very quiet. Ramses turned to the small sound and was stunned at what he saw.

Kiara had come up onto the deck for the first time in two days since she had been avoiding him after their last conversation. She was standing by the rail about five feet away from him, and she was looking out at the passing country.

It was her face that had Ramses stunned.

As she was looking at the passing land, the look on her face was one of bliss and elation. Her eyes shone with happiness, and a soft smile was on her lips. The wind was whipping her brown hair about her face, and it somehow highlighted her deep blue eyes even more.

Ramses couldn't look away from her. The way she was practically shinning at this moment kept him from turning away from her. The way she looked at this moment was so captivating and breathtaking. He couldn't believe the change in her. Before she had seemed so plain. Her eyes and hair had been different, but she had still been only of average attractiveness. But now, now she seemed much more...beautiful.

It was her eyes. Hers eyes were so expressive. They shinned so brightly, and he could hardly believe what it was they shone with. As she looked out at the Egyptian countryside that was passing by, her eyes shone with wonder and happiness. Just looking at the edges of Egypt made her seem so joyful. She had never been to this country before, and yet she was looking at it if it was her home, and she was coming home for the first time after being away for a long while. She was smiling as if Egypt were her home and nothing made her more happy than to be here.

He didn't know what to do or say. Ramses stared at Kiara for a moment. A deep almost gnawing feeling swept through him, and all he could do was watch her as she leaned against the rail and looked out.

Slowly, he walked towards her. She glanced up at him for a moment, and as her shinning face turned to him he thought he felt his heart stop for a moment.

"Its so beautiful." Kiara sighed happily as she turned back to look out again. Ramses stared at her for a moment before answering softly.

"Yes, very beautiful." He answered, but he wasn't looking at Egypt. He was looking at this strange person in front of him.

After a moment, he turned away and looked out across the water as well. For a while there was silence as they both watched the shore slide by as the boat sailed along, further and further into the Egyptian Empire.

* * *

I was standing there alone against the rail. I stood so that my back was leaning on the rail with my hands on either side of me, and I was turned so that I was looking out at the land. Every now and then, I reached up to push my brown hair out of my face so it wasn't in my eyes.

It was just so amazing. Everything was. I could see Egypt from here. The sand looked so...clean and bright. The air was very warm, and there was a salty musk-like smell that came from the Nile. There were also a sort of spiciness in the air. I didn't know where that came from, but I was guessing it had something to do with the very hot bright sun constantly beating down on us here. Whatever it was, I had decided it was the smell of Egypt. A salty, musky, spicy smell that was hot and pleasant in a strange but incredible way.

It was so weird. I had no idea why it felt so...peaceful and perfect to be here. I mean, it was a desert. I had no friends here to welcome me and make me feel at home. There were no cookies or hotdog stands. I wasn't going to be able to get a pedicure or see a movie. I could no longer sing on a large stage with bright lights, nor could I put on a strange, perhaps uncomfortable, costume and play a completely different person in front of a movie camera. These were all things I thought I would need. Maybe not all of them. I had always thought if it came right down to the nitty-gritty, then all I would need is people who cared about me. But I wouldn't have that here, yet it didn't bother me anymore.

I wondered why. Why was I so completely at ease here? In a place I had no real knowledge of. In a place that would be nothing like what I had previously known and called home. Why did the thought of coming here not make me nervous but only excited and happy?

Egypt had always been a fascination for me. It was for everyone I think. The ancient Egyptians had built the pyramids without any cranes or big machines. They had made so many monuments and historical wonders with only their sweat and the strength of their bodies. They had made so much progress in so many fields. They were well versed in farming and astronomy and science and medicine. What had taken them maybe a few centuries, or perhaps only a few decades, to learn had all been lost, and then it had taken us _thousands_ of years to reach the same level of knowledge, much less surpass it.

Or maybe it was less than all of that. As a kid I hadn't been amazed at how well the Egyptians had solved their math and farming problems and such. As a kid I had loved stories. There were always wonderful myths and stories surrounding Egypt with all of their gods and beliefs and the pharaohs and the monuments. And to add to all of those fabulous incredible stories, the Egyptians had recorded their stories in a fun way. They had written on their very walls. They had carved and painted their history and legends into stone and left it for all to see. Everyone had colored on the wall when they were kids. Perhaps it was simply some sort of psychological thing that made us all want to put something of ourselves up there for everyone to see. To leave something of us behind so that everyone would know who we were and what we had done.

If you asked me what it was that drew me to Egypt when I was little I wouldn't have been able to tell you. I still wouldn't be able to tell me if you asked me now. As I had gotten older I collected more reasons to like the place:

Egyptians wore eye make-up all of the time. Kohl, their version of eye liner, was worn by anyone and everyone who could afford it. And they wore it everyday. The clothes they wore very cute too. Some of it was shocking; I mean there were dresses for women that did not cover the chest at all. But there were cute dresses with large colorful sashes and some fun styles. They also had the cutest jewelry. And they wore their jewels everyday; a lot of it, but it wasn't clunky.

Plus I loved the weather. Warm sunshine every single day? No snow! Always warm—admittedly extremely hot—everyday. And the Nile was around for a possible swimming break if things were too hot.

And call me a 'Steve Irwin girl' but some of the animals in Egypt were really awesome. I loved crocodiles. I don't know why, because I used to be scared as hell of them; the same with snakes too. But at some point, after I had started watching 'Crocodile Hunter', I had come to really admire and respect the animals. Now if I saw a snake I wouldn't scream and run. I would actually watch him for a bit, to see what he would be up to. If he came toward me I would run because that was the smart thing to do, and I wouldn't chase him, but it didn't scare me. So being in Egypt with big snakes and big crocodiles didn't bother me at all. It was a little exciting really. They were dangerous yet fascinating creatures, and that was an alluring combination to my mind.

These reasons may not seem like much, and they really weren't. They were small and somewhat superficial but it didn't matter. Egypt had a pull for me. It always had. And not the modern Egypt that was filled with all of the cars and condos of everyday modern life. It was this, this ancient Egypt that held its appeal for me. I don't know why that is, but maybe, while I was here I would find out.

I smiled. Yeah, I was getting to do something no one else got to do. I was getting to see ancient Egypt in all of its glory and wonder. Before it had been conquered, before the library of Alexandria had burned and all of that knowledge lost. I was getting an incredible once-in-a-lifetime opportunity here.

And I wasn't going to waste a second.

I turned from the beautiful view of Egyptian countryside to look back at the boat.

I saw General standing at the other end of the boat. He was looking at me, or at least towards me.

I was more than grateful that he had let me come. Even if he hadn't done it for _me_, even if he had done it in _spite_ of me, I was still grateful. I mean, here we were in this incredible place about to go on a real adventure, and I wouldn't be here if he hadn't helped me.

He was across the deck still watching me, and for some reason I just felt extremely happy that he was there; that he was _here_, with me even though he wasn't really with me. I was still very embarrassed and angry about our last conversation and I doubt that I would forget it or forgive him for it any time soon, but right now I was willing to look past it; I was in _that_ good of a mood. I'm sure I'll go back to hating him soon though. He really is very annoying.

I smiled at him. A bright happy smile. I was saying 'thank you'. He probably just saw me smiling and had no clue why I was acting like an idiot who couldn't decide whether to hate someone or like them but I didn't mind that right now. For this moment, I was looking past all that irritation we had for each other. For this moment, I wouldn't hate him. But just for this moment only.

* * *

Ramses had been watching her at a distance for a while. She had continued to stare out even after he had left her alone. He didn't understand the way that she was looking out at everything. Like she was so happy with it all. It wasn't truly significant yet. Just a passing countryside and the occasional town and monument. He saw it as beautiful and incredible, but it was his home, his land, and the place where he knew he belonged, and the place that he wanted to protect. She had no connections to this place, no reason to see it as anything but another country that was foreign to her.

He didn't understand her. She was such a mystery to him.

As he watched her, she turned to see him standing here. After a moment of which they both just watched each other, she smiled. A bright happy smile.

Ramses felt a strange stirring as he looked at her smiling face and happy eyes. It was a weird feeling this stirring that she had somehow caused in him. He felt it down deeply in the pit of his stomach, but after a second it was gone as if it had never been there.

She continued to smile at him for a moment; a beautiful smile. Why was she smiling at him? They were constantly at odds with each other, and he knew she was furious with him. So why the smile?

He turned away from her and walked down to his own rooms. He had work to do. He should be thinking about what was coming up. He should be thinking about his job.

But for a moment, all he could think about was that beautiful smile, and the captivating way her eyes had shone as she looked at country that wasn't hers with so much happiness.

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**XD. Yay! We're almost to Egypt! In the next chappie we will actually get off that boat and be in Egypt. Review please!**


	43. First Arrival

**Ugh, this chapter about killed me in writing**. I don't even know why. It was just one of those things I guess. Anyway, HUGE THANKS to my Beta for having the patience to work with me through this and for helping me make this a better chapter for everyone to read. I luvs you Beta! You are the bestest friend ever! XD

**Dana:**I was in fact aware that Alexandria wasn't around back around Ramses's time. My Beta and I in fact did a lot of looking around to find a suitable city for Kiara and Ramses to come to so we didn't mess anything up too much. Another big thanks to her, and a thank you to you Dana for reviewing and offering nice help so much. :)

**xXMistressMadHatterXx:**Tezel won't be coming back into the story for a while and even when he does he won't have a big role, but it's fun to see that people still remember him. XD

**cherry-888:**Yes I actually saw an episode on the MythBusters about how pepper-spray can be light on fire and if you have enough it makes a really big flame. Don't know if it can actually be a small bomb...but I think it works well enough for this story. :D

**KaylynBlack: **Thanks for your review it was really nice!

**A big thanks to anyone who reads and/or reviews my story it means a lot!**

A note about the city that Kiara and Ramses go to, it's called Hutwaret and all of the information my Beta and I found on it came from Wikipedia if anyone else wants to know more.

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**43: Frist Arrival**

We docked at the port of Hutwaret three days after I first saw the shores of Egypt. During that time I had spent most of my waking and plenty of my sleeping hours on the deck of the ship simply soaking in the surrounding ambiance. It really was a gorgeous place, and I just couldn't get enough of staring at it.

During those three days, I hadn't seen much of General. That was fine. I didn't want to see him. After that one moment of gratitude I had for him, I went back to my resentment. He was such a arrogant pig, and I could care less about what he was up to.

But still, what was he up to?

I had never found out what we were going to be doing here in Egypt. Hutwaret was supposed to be a big trading city, so maybe General had to make a trade for Pharaoh? But if that was it, then wouldn't they have sent someone less important? Instead they had called out their famous, very influential General Ramses. That didn't make sense at all. It had to be something big to have called in a big fish like General.

Don't think _I _was flattering him. I would never, ever praise _that_ _man_ in anyway that he didn't deserve. But since I had been on the boat, I had heard the other ship-hands talk about the General. They all had high respect and admiration for the man. I knew first-hand that he was good in a fight, and judging from the awed tones and praises that these people showered on him, he was pretty good at his job of being a general too.

_I've seen him fight, and I suppose he's a great fighter, but as a diplomat he lacks; a lot. He is no good with words and tact. Arrogant perverted pig. _I seethed thinking about how much he openly belittled and mocked me. And always in that damn, cool, indifferent way of his! Like he couldn't be bothered to have any emotion for me besides the annoyance and irritation. But he was a General, so he must be able to lead his troops well.

_He was well enough to go up against King, from what I hear. But of course, I don't know how well of a general King is either. For all I know, they could both suck; just that they suck the same amount as each other._

With that comforting idea of General being a terrible general, I stepped off of the ship and onto the docks of the bustling Egyptian city.

I looked around in awe, but tried not to look so overwhelmed and excited. Even though that was exactly how I felt.

The streets were very busy as people rushed about to do their business. It was around noon; which was basically rush hour.

I watched curiously as young children ran around. Men strutted through the streets proudly and women wandered around for their own business.

I noticed with a slight blush that the fashions here were even more light and revealing. Many children wore no clothing, and adults wore very little. There were a lot of bare chests here, of both male and female varieties.

_At least he didn't give me a dress like that. _I thought huffing. I adjusted the shawl-wrap thing around my shoulders and walked further onto the dock platform. That morning, someone had knocked on my door at an ungodly early hour, and I had been ready to kill whoever it was waking me up. I opened the door to yell at whoever was there, but I never got the chance. Just as I opened my mouth to start shouting, a bundle of clothes flew right into my face. Startled, I had jumped back. I had looked up to see General walking away, but he was gone before I could yell at him.

_Stupid jerk. Waking me up so damn early, and then walking off without a word. And throwing stuff at me too! If he hadn't brought me clothes, and if they had been ugly, I woulda had to kill him._

As it was, I quite liked the clothes he had unceremoniously thrown at me. There was a long white plain dress. It wasn't too different from the other dresses I had worn here, except that the skirt wasn't a pencil or sheath skirt. Instead, at the hips, the skirt flared out to give off a lot of leg room and flow. The waist on the dress was high, and there were two wide shoulder straps. Along with the dress he had thrown some big shawl at me. It was a light rose color, and it was really big. I had had some trouble at first, arranging it on me, but I figured it out well enough. I used it as a hood and covered up all of my hair and shadowed my face from the sun, as well as draping it around my shoulders and back. There was the option of having it cover the lower half of my face, but I actually like to breathe, so I left that part off. I had on my own tan sandals, and no jewelry except for the chain that held my father's dog-tags which was on underneath the dress.

I stood at the end of the platform and waited for General to make the first move. Some passersby on the streets glanced at me and the boat curiously, but nothing seemed different from the day to day, so no one watched for long. The crew moved around quickly securing the ship completely and moving whatever cargo there was around.

I still didn't know what we were here for. And at this moment I wasn't sure where General was either. He had told me to stay by the ship and wait, but he hadn't said anything else, nor had he given me anytime to reply.

_Since we got to Egypt, he's been even more annoying. He ignores me now. _His attitude really confused me. I mean, he had bothered me so much, and then, just when he had really gotten to me with that conversation about Bast, he had started to leave me alone.

_But I wanted him to leave me alone, so it shouldn't bother me. _I tried to reason with myself. I crossed my arms over my chest and turned to face the strong wind that was blowing through the air.

_But it doesn't make sense. Why is he suddenly changing his attitude now? It's suspicious. People don't just change what they do over night like that without a reason._

_But maybe he's just getting ready for his job. You know, preparing himself for it mentally or something. Like how an actor gets into character before they step on stage._

I thought about that for a moment. It made a little sense, but I still didn't think it was a good reason. Then, abruptly I blinked realizing what I was doing.

_Why am I thinking about that jerk so much? I don't want to have anything to do with him, so why am I thinking about him so much? Stupid jerk! Whatever it is he's doing doesn't concern me at all!_ I shook my head in irritation. Even when he wasn't here, he still annoyed me!

I just beginning to wonder if he had left me behind on purpose, or if he had forgotten me, when General came back.

I had to look up at him because he was riding on the back of a big, black horse. Well I always had to look up at him since he was so tall, and I was so short, but he was really taller than me now. There was a second tan horse that was currently riderless behind him.

"So you didn't ditch me." I said in a voice filled with annoyance. General just looked at me in that cool way of his, which I hated. Not waiting for an answer from the man, I walked over to the tan horse.

There was already a saddle, but I would have to ride side-saddle in this dress. That wasn't a problem, I could ride side-saddle just as well as I rode the normal way. The problem was having no stirrups to use for getting onto the horse. Jumping too much in this dress, with this wind, would be a Marilyn Monroe type disaster.

"It would have been very dishonorable to abandon a woman on her own." General coolly said from just behind me.

Before I could say anything, I felt two large, warm hands grip my sides. Effortlessly it seemed, General turned me around the right way, and then lifted me from the ground and placed me onto the horse's back.

I hadn't even seen him dismount from his own horse, and there he was helping me onto mine. Just like a gentleman would too. Since when was this jerk a gentleman? He's totally a jerk! Still...

I couldn't seem to stop replaying in my hand the way he had lifted me so easily. It had been effortless. His hands were very strong, and I couldn't help but notice the way his muscles had rippled as he used them to put me in the saddle. I mean, I knew he looked strong and all, but he actually was. I mean, I'm not heavy or overweight or anything, but I'm not light either. But it hadn't bothered him at all. He just came and lifted me all the way up into the saddle. Wow.

"Are you ready now?" General asked. He was already back onto his own horse. I looked up at him, startled out of my own thoughts. I noticed for the first time in a while just how incredibly hot he was. I mean really, he was just very hot. Those eyes, and abs. Abs that weren't for show and were really really...

I mentally slapped myself.

"Uh, uh yeah." I answered looking way from him. He didn't say anything else just staring at me for a moment which made m get a little nervous. Then he started to led his horse forward, and silently I followed him.

I couldn't stop myself from thinking of how cute he looked, and how strong he was, and I also couldn't help the slight blush on my cheeks. I just _really_ hope he didn't see it.

* * *

Ramses noticed the slight redness on her checks as he led them through the streets. He wasn't completely sure what had caused it, but he saw it there. It wasn't really important. She was such a strange person that surely half of the things she did had no meaning or sense.

"So um, you've decided to be civil then? And stop treating me like some dumb idiot with no sense?" Kiara asked him suddenly after clearing her throat. He glanced back at her with his usual indifferent face.

"If you can pretend to act as a decent woman should, then I can pretend to show you civility and imagine that you have sense." Ramses drawled with a shrug.

He heard her indignant intake of air, and then her horse moved up directly beside his instead of merely following.

"So you know how then? To be nice? Cause as far as I've seen you've never been anything but an arrogant pig who thinks he owns the whole world!" Kiara snapped at him her blue eyes filled with anger.

He looked at her evenly. "As usual, you are very uncivilized and have deplorable behavior for a woman." Kiara opened her mouth to protest, but Ramses forestalled her by reaching out and grasping a hold of her hood. Shocked, Kiara jerked back from his touch, but he ignored that and tugged on the hood until it was shadowing over most of her face.

"Keep your head down. This sun is much hotter than you are used to, and your pale skin will burn. I have no intention of listening to your complaints about that." Ramses ordered. Kiara scowled and turned away.

It wasn't that he was worried about her skin or her health under the bright sun. He didn't want to attract too much attention in this visit, and she was too noticeable. Especially since he had already confirmed that whispers of an Egyptian goddess had reached Hutwaret. Her brown hair and paler skin was a sure way for her to get noticed. Which was why he had gotten her the cloak and dress. It was a common Egyptian style, and she would be nothing more than another woman riding through the streets.

_She does look nice in that dress though. It suits her._

Startled at the unexpected thought, Ramses shook his head slightly. There was no reason to be thinking about such things now. Especially not about Kiara, who was hardly the type of woman to have such thoughts about. She was so very plain and irritating. There was nothing attractive or appealing about her at all.

Suddenly, the memory of her soft, sweet smile on the deck of the boat a few days ago came to his mind.

_She had been beautiful then._

Annoyed, he pushed those thoughts away and focused on the road they were traveling on. He _did_ have work to do. This woman had begged to come along and was simply an annoyance he wished he didn't need to deal with.

Kiara huffed and reached up to push her hood back to the way she had it before. "For your information I've spent entire summers, and _years_ even, sitting around in the sun for _lots_ of my jobs. I'm used to the sun; it's not my fault that I don't tan to a brown color the way normal people do." she said clearly annoyed, though whether she was annoyed at him or at her own lack of color, he wasn't sure.

It was a very hot day. The streets were filled with common people who wandered about, continuing on with their daily activities even as the intense sun beat down upon them. They were in the center of the large market place now, and the noise was nearly deafening. People promoting their wares, others selling, and still others shouting to be heard by their fellows. There were horses, dogs, and other animals all causing a fuss for what ever reason. The smell of the area was a little rank since there were so many people and animals all crowded together, but the strong wind was keeping most of the smell at bay.

It was a normal day in the busy Egyptian trading city, but Ramses had almost no patience for it today. Almost all of his patience had been used up by this strange irritating woman he had following behind him. She was being stubborn, but the last thing he needed was for her to create a scene. It wasn't likely that too many people would pay attention since the place was so crowded, and everyone was minding their own business, but Ramses didn't want to take that chance.

He was about to tell her that she was being loud, and that she should simply do as he told her and remain quiet, when the wind picked up more speed.

It came towards his face head on with a sharp sting to it. Grimacing he turned away from it. Looking behind himself, he cursed silently.

The wind had jerked at the loosened hood on Kiara's head, and it had fallen away. She held a hand over her eyes to protect herself from the bitter wind, and the other hand was gripping onto the cloak at her neck so that it wasn't blown off of her completely.

Her hair, her strange, bright brown hair was blowing out in the wind.

As suddenly as it picked up, the wind died back down, but the damage was already done.

Kiara lowered her hand, and blinked against the sudden glare as the sunlight came directly into her eyes without a hood to shield her face.

Ramses gave a quick glance around and mentally cursed again. She had already been noticed.

Some of the commoners had been watching Ramses and Kiara out of curiosity since they were riding by on well-bred horses. Now those commoners stared with fascination as Kiara's unusual hair showed clearly in the bright sunlight.

The rumors of an Egyptian goddess were small so far, most unbelieved, but they spoke of a small woman with long hair that was an unheard of brown color and pale skin. The rumors were mostly disbelieved; they were thought to be another ploy by the Hittites to gain the favor of another goddess and more power, but if a woman showed up with the coloring of the rumored goddess, than the rumors would gain credit, and Kiara would gain a lot of attention.

As yet, the talk of the new Egyptian goddess was too small for people to immediately recognize that she was, in fact, this person here, but someone here probably knew about the rumors, and he would speak about it with his friends. In fact, even as Ramses watched, some of the people began to point to Kiara and whisper with the others around them.

The longer they stayed in the open, the more chance there was that Kiara would be the cause of a riot.

"Let's go." Ramses ordered sharply pushing his horse forward at a faster pace.

Startled, Kiara yelled something at him and sped up her own horse so that she could catch up with him. He didn't bother to listen to what she said. He wanted to get to some shelter and get out of peoples' view. The noise levels hadn't changed, but Ramses couldn't hear whether they were talking about Kiara or a goddess, or whether they were simply continuing with their buying and selling.

_She's just an annoyance that I shouldn't have to deal with._He thought to himself as they rode along. He shouldn't have to, and he didn't want to. Next time, he would keep his mouth shut. Bothering and annoying that damn Mursili was nothing compared to how much Kiara was annoying Ramses.

This was all a big irritation, and not even that smile of hers made it any different. He wished he had never spoken up and made it so she could come with him.

Next time, he would leave her behind. After this, he didn't want to be stuck with this woman ever again.

* * *

**A/N: Uh oh so what next? Will Kiara cause a riot? And what are they in Egypt for anyway? We find out next week. ;D Review please!**


	44. Shopping Surprise

This is uploaded a few hours early cause tomorrow I'm off on a vaction before school starts again. I have to get up early. I don't like getting up early. -_-

I still have packing to do and other such preparation type stuff so I'll be brief and not go on and on like normal. ;D

**THANK YOU to all my wonderful reviewers. I love getting your feedback and support! Thank you to all my readers for reading and enjoying! THANK YOU LOTS LOTS LOTS to my wonderful Beta, I'm glad I have you around to help because undoubtedly this would start to sux without your help and I would get even more lazy without you threatening to whip me if I didn't keep working. XD**

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**44: Shopping Surprise**

We were in the mayors house.

_It's more like a palace. How is it that anyone with even a small political office has such a huge house to live in? This place has hundreds of rooms and big gardens. And lots of servants. Hm...maybe the mayors in these days have more money and responsibility than mayors from my time. But of course it also depends on the size of the city, and this is a big city, so maybe this makes sense. Ah whatever, its not much fun to think about._

But what else was there to think about? General and I had come to this mayors house, and after a lot of talking between the mayor and General—a conversation which I was told to stand back from and couldn't listen to cause I'm a _girl_—we were allowed rooms here until General finished his business.

After the _men_ had finished talking about who knows what, we were shown our rooms. Mine was a lot smaller than General's. I wouldn't have minded since I know the different between a first class general, and a person who was basically a servant, but I'm sure I got a small room cause I'm just a woman not some big important man.

I wouldn't have paid attention to any of this so much if that dumb mayor hadn't run his mouth off at me.

**Flashback:**

"_Ah General Ramses, who is this lovely creature you have with you?" the mayor asked with a leer in my direction which made my spine stiffen up._

"_She's merely one of the Hittite Queen's attendants. She was sent to pick out some of our Egyptian merchandise from the market to bring back to the queen." General replied in his usual stoic way._

"_They sent someone along for that? Could they not have simply ordered some things to be made, and had them delivered to Her Majesty?" the mayor asked seeming confused._

_General shrugged. "The Queen seemed to prefer having it done this way, and what was one more person on the boat going to matter?"_

"_Ah I see. Women do seem to complicate things for themselves. They have so little sense, poor things."_

_I had managed to keep my mouth shut with a lot of effort. After that, I was politely shooed to the back of the room where I couldn't hear what it was General and the mayor were talking about._

**End flashback.**

I had been freaking pissed after that. What had really, and I mean _really_, annoyed me was that General had seemed to agree with the stupid mayor's opinion that women were senseless poor little things.

_Idiot! He should know better than that! Yuri isn't a weak stupid female no matter what he said about her to the mayor, and I know he loves her, so he can't honestly believe that all women are stupid things!_

_Or maybe he does. Maybe he thought Yuri was just another silly woman, and that's why he lost her to someone else. Because he has such pig-headed opinions._

I shook my head. It didn't matter, and I didn't care. Their little love triangle was none of my business, and I wasn't about to try and figure it out, nor fix it for them.

I have my _own_ problems. I had been looking forward to coming here, and that had distracted me from my present situation, but in reality, I was _3000_ years away from home, and I was surrounded by sexist pigs who thought women were better for decorations than anything else.

_No matter how fun or interesting Egypt is, being filled with its arrogant pigs and all, I want to go home. I have my own life there, and people I care about. This is just a side-trip. A big one. But still, just a distraction from my real life which is hundreds of years away from here. _I thought longingly of the deep blue skies and green pastures of the ranch I had grown up on and sighed. There wasn't a day when I didn't think of home and wish I was there.

I paced around my borrowed room in irritation. What was I supposed to do now? I was here in some jerk's house that was undoubtedly filled with _more_ self-righteous jerks, and I had no idea what to do!

_Where's that damn General? He just let them dump me here in my room, and never said a word to me once we got inside this place. He just got all self-important and high and mighty on me who is a lowly little servant out on her queen's errands and who doesn't deserve any of his time! _

Irritated and getting overly hot from all my pacing, I jerked off the cloak that I was still wearing, and threw it to the ground. With quick jerky movements, I fluffed my hair out and combed my fingers through it, trying to get it into a somewhat acceptable appearance, a feat which was hard since I didn't have a nice big mirror in a well lit bathroom anymore.

_Hm, who knew all it took to really make you miss home was getting sucked into the past where all the men thought girls were pretty, but dumb and ignorant? _I thought sarcastically to myself.

"You don't seem to be in a happy mood."

I spun around so fast that I nearly lost my balance. Unnoticed General had come into my room and was now standing there with his arms crossed over his chest. His expression was blank again; he was cold and expressionless like a rock.

I scowled and turned away from him, my own arms folding over my chest in defiance.

"Why does it matter if I'm happy? I'm just a senseless female after all. Whether I'm happy or not shouldn't make much difference to some high and might person like you." I retorted. My tone was dripping with venom and anger. I wanted him to know _exactly_ how I felt about his little conversation with that mayor. And the way I felt was _furious_ over it!

"You _are_ an insensible female. Now that we agree on this point, stop scowling and come this way. You have work to do." General said with his causal indifferent tone.

"Oh? I? A weak unworthy woman, am being trusted with work?" I asked with mock surprise raising an eyebrow and glaring at him. His jaw clenched, and his eyes darkened just a bit. I was actually surprised to see that. Usually when he put on his stoic/rock face, he showed almost no emotion at all. But now he was showing anger.

_Wow, I guess that mean's that I really get on his nerves._ I thought. Perversely, I was pleased with the idea that I could bother him so much. That I could get under his skin just the way that he got under mine.

"Come along you viper of a woman, I have no time for your childish antics." General said almost snapping at me. Again startled by his unusual harshness, I walked forward and left the room with him leading the way.

_I wonder what's up. He's usually not so angry like that. Usually he hides it better._ I frowned and stared at him. He was walking ahead of me. Walking wasn't quite the right word for it. He was nearly sprinting, he was taking such long strides and going so fast. Either he wanted to get where we were going quickly, or he was hoping to lose me along the way.

We did reach our destination quickly. It was a medium sized sitting room with laid back couches, a large square table that was low to the ground, and comfortable pillows and cushions surrounding the table for furniture. There were silks and hangings on the walls, and a few other decorations such as large ornate jars and statues. It was a nice comfortable room. What drew my interest the most was the man who was there.

He was short, bald, and somewhat overweight. He had adorned himself with a lot of jewels. There were rings on all of his fingers and many necklaces. He looked gaudy and somewhat ridiculous to me. He was probably just trying to show off how much money he had.

On the table in front of the bald fat man, there were three very beautifully carved boxes.

"General Ramses! It is indeed an honor to serve one such as you!I am Sertap, the finest merchant in Hutwaret." the bald man said smiling brightly as he flattered the well known Egyptian lord and introduced himself.

General reclined his head in acknowledgment of the praises and introduction. "You have arrived here very quickly. I had only informed the mayor or my wish to see the best an hour ago." General remarked.

"Ah, one learns to be well prepared for summons such as these. And let me assure you that my wares are the best to be found on this side of the great Nile!" Sertap stated proudly.

_I wonder if he's more proud of his wares, or of his ability to get here so quickly?_ I mused offhandedly. Actually I was watching General again. He was a mystery this man. He seemed to behave so differently around other people. With the mayor and with this merchant, he was indifferent and almost bored it seemed. But around King and the others in Hattusa, he was restrained and almost mockingly proper. On the ship he was relaxed, but still guarded. With Yuri he was cold. With me he's an ass.

_Is he bipolar? Does he always react so differently? Are titles and privileges all that matter in a person to him? He certainly treats kings and nobles with more respect than commoners; even if that respect is grudging or offhanded. Is he never actually at ease or relaxed?_ I didn't have answers to the questions. I shook my head slightly though, and told myself that it didn't matter cause I didn't like the man, and didn't want to have to deal with him.

"My I have the honor to know who this beautiful lady is?"

I was startled out of my thoughts by Sertap's question. He was talking about me? He was certainly looking at me.

_He's looking at my hair._ I thought noticing the direction of his gaze. _He doesn't think I'm beautiful; he just wants to know about my hair. _I decided somewhat crossly.

"This is Lady Kiara. She is here on the Hittite Queen's request. She will be assisting in the buying." General said introducing me. I hated his tone when he said it. Like I was just a side attraction. A painting on the wall. That thing over there that we're mostly going to ignore and pretend doesn't have actual thought or feeling.

"Ah, Lady Kiara. It is a pleasure to meet so a fine young woman like yourself. Your hair is...such an interesting color. From the Hittites you say?" the Sertap said with a bit too much eagerness in his voice.

"Sertap please refrain from speaking of the brown-haired goddess nonsense. I've heard so much of it already that it almost makes me ill. Kiara is simply here on the Queen Ishtar's business. Nothing more, nothing less." General said with boredom. His eyes narrowed just a little in annoyance and warning.

"Ah yes! Of course my lord!" Sertap hurriedly bowed low trying not to make General angry. He made a sweeping gesture with his arms over the three boxes on the table. "I have brought the best of my jewels as requested. And also a selection of perfumes, clothing and other items of interest for a queen." Sertap motioned to a large trunk beside him on the floor which I hadn't noticed before. It was also very beautifully carved. "Egyptian goods are the finest in the world. The Hittite Queen will surely be well pleased."

General nodded in approval. "Indeed, Egypt costume outshines all other countries by far. Even the Hittites are aware of this."

I didn't say anything. They were a lot of talk, but the Hittite empire beat the Egyptian empire in their war. These people were all talk and no power it seemed.

Sertap opened up the three boxes on the table, and I admit, I was very well impressed. He pulled out piece after piece of fine jewelry and laid it all on the flat smooth table surface.

There were necklaces, rings, earrings, bracelets, brooches, armbands, wristbands, ankle bands, hair combs, and headbands. They were in all different shapes and styles and all extremely well made and designed.

_Wow, I don't think I've ever seen such a nice looking display. And I shop at Tiffany's all the time!_ I thought reaching out and picking up one of the necklaces. It was made of twisted hemp and had a large onyx stone pendant that was surrounded by smaller black stones. It was very pretty.

_But it doesn't match Yuri._

I, being the experienced shopper I am, could easily pick out the pieces that would fit the fair skinned queen. I could finish this up in about 10 minutes.

_But..._

I glanced back at General thinking for a moment. He thought I was annoying and not womanly.

What was more of a girl thing that making someone wait for hours while she shopped as much as she could?

I threw a smirk at General which made his eyes narrow a little. Those pretty, pretty eyes.

I knew just how to get back at him.

And it would be _fun_ too!

* * *

This was taking too long.

Ramses stared down at Kiara who was seated on a cushion at the table, looking over a set of ruby earrings. She had a pout on her lips as she held the earrings up and twisted them all around to look over every inch of them.

She had been doing this with _every_, _single_, _piece_ of jewelry.

It had been two hours since they had come into here. Ramses had thought that even Kiara would have been able to get through this with some amount of speed.

But then, Kiara was hardly someone who seemed to know anything about expensive jewels. She didn't wear jewelry of any kind usually, and the only things he had seen her wear, were cheap and unattractive.

Perhaps this was simply another way in which she was so different from other women. He'd never met a woman who didn't know what jewels she liked and what she wanted. Even if that woman was shopping for someone else, they had never taken this long to do it.

And her attitude! She was constantly sighing and frowning as if she were confused or irritated. Sertap was very helpful, often giving her advice and telling her about the different pieces. She listened to his comments thoughtfully then went back to her sighing.

In two hours, she had picked out only a dozen pieces, three of which were unsuitable to the Hittite Queen.

Ramses was becoming irritated. He could clearly tell that Kiara was clueless in this. She kept looking back and forth, here and there, choosing this, than that, and getting rid of that.

They hadn't even started with the clothing and perfumes yet! Ramses struggled to remain cool and indifferent. He could easily have picked out some things for Yuri by now. Why was Kiara taking so long in this? It was ridiculous.

_She's such an irritation. And practically useless. The only thing she's done of any use, was fight and rescue men from the water. That's hardly a woman's job._

He had work to get to. It was important that he take care of this business quickly, and hopefully without too much fuss. Kiara not only was distracting him from that, but she was an added problem. He had tried to detour Sertap's mind from Kiara's strange appearance, but the merchant continued to stare at the brown hair and blue eyes almost constantly.

He refrained from simply picking out the jewels for himself. He would be able to do it easily, but if he were to do so, then it would become obvious that Kiara was no good at this, which would make it hard to understand why the Queen had sent her for the job. Therefore, he had to hope that Kiara could at lease pretend she knew what she was doing.

Kiara held up a large necklace now. It was made of gold with three large turquoise stones set in the middle one being the largest and the two on the side being of equal size. The necklace was shaped as a loose collar with more flexibility than the traditional jeweled collars that many Egyptians wore.

Ramses was loosing all of his patience. The necklace in her hands was unsuitable for Yuri. Surely Kiara could see _that_ at least. In fact, the necklace she was holding suited Kiara much better, as it enhanced the blue in her own eyes, and the gold contrasted nicely with her hair.

Hoping to speed things up and remind her of what she was supposed to be doing, Ramses leaned down and grabbed the necklace in one hand, and Kiara's chin in the other. He pulled her face around, and forced her to look him in the eyes, lowering his own face to within inches of hers. Her eyes showed her surprise at his sudden actions.

"Kiara I believe you forget yourself. This necklace is not suitable for the Hittite Queen. It matches your features much more, but that is not for whom you are purchasing items at this time." his tone was light, but still reprimanding.

A blush lit Kiara's cheeks on fire, and she hastily pulled her face out of Ramses's hand. Quickly she jumped up from her seat. Still blushing furiously, she pushed all of her previous selections across the table back toward Sertap. Then, without a word, and only a embarrassed frown on her face, she grabbed 20 different pieces of jewels and placed them on the table before Ramses.

Again without a word, she moved to the trunk and threw it open.

In ten minutes, she had placed in a pile, five articles of clothing, and two different bottles of scents. She also selected three small trinkets; one was a small lion figurine made of onyx stone, another was a beautiful jar with a running black horse artfully painted on it, the final piece was small box made of marble and inlaid with golden scrolls and swirls.

Just as soon as she had everything she selected laid out for both men to examine, Kiara practically fled to the door. She swung it open then turned suddenly and looked back. Glaring directly into Ramses's eyes, she stuck her tongue out her mouth at him. Then she left, slamming the door behind herself.

Ramses stared at the door in surprise.

First of all, she stuck her tongue out at him? What was that supposed to mean? It was a strange thing to do.

Secondly, before she hadn't been able to pick out a single piece of jewelry in ten minutes, then within five minutes she had selected twenty? And then she had also easily picked out the clothing and trinkets as well. Looking over what she had chosen, Ramses was equally surprised to see that everything suited Yuri very well.

He came to the surprising conclusion that for the past two hours, Kiara had been acting as if she was incompetent when she actually knew _exactly_ what she was doing.

And what she was doing was manipulating Ramses into wasting his time by acting like a rotten, spoiled brat.

_That little,_

He didn't know what to think of her at the moment. She had played him very well. He hadn't noticed at all that she was only pretending to be an idiot. Sertap had believed her to be a senseless fool as well. She had played her deception very well.

He was impressed despite himself. It was not often someone tricked him. And she had done so, even if it was only in a small matter.

He was impressed, but also quite irritated.

"That is a very interesting young woman." Sertap remarked as he packed away the items that were not being bought.

"Women and their games. Their amusements are often so childish." Ramses remarked drily.

"Of course my lord. But we must forgive them for this, they have no sense for anything else." Sertap said with a loud sigh.

Ramses's thoughts quickly filtered through some of the less childish women he had seen; Yuri who was very determined and hard working in achieving her goals; Nefertiti whose scheming was nasty and unneeded, yet very clever; Nefert who often understood troubling matters despite her tendency to act the spoiled lord's daughter; and now Kiara who seemed to know how to trick people very easily.

_No, not all women were senseless. Some have too much sense in them._ He thought reflectively.

"I trust my lord has the payment...?" Sertap said carefully not wanting to offend, but still wishing for his money. These were many, fine and expensive purchases. These two hours had been trying, but he would be quite a bit richer for them.

"Of course, the money could not be left in the care of the woman after all." Ramses lied effortlessly. He hadn't been given money to make purchases in Yuri's name, but a small loss of his own gold would not mean much to him if he could avoid too much attention being paid towards Kiara.

The servants were summoned. They packed up the items being sold and took them away to be stored until Ramses and Kiara left. A servant also brought Ramses money from his belongings. He and the merchant agreed on a price, it was paid, and the merchant left with a heavier money bag and lighter boxes.

Ramses sighed heavily. It had been a tiring day. He had accomplished a lot however. He and Kiara were here, were they needed to be. He had already sent messages to both nobles he needed to visit here in Hutwaret. He had kept Kiara's identity as a 'goddess' from being known. He had even managed to get people thinking that the Hittites thought Egyptian goods were superior to their own. If Yuri did actually wear some of the Egyptian jewels and used the perfumes, then that would most likely set a trend. More Hittites, and possibly other nations as well, would seek to buy more Egyptian costume. That would bring more money to the Egyptian empire; money which was very needed.

_The money would probably just end up in some old man's coffers though,_ Ramses thought with distaste. But even so, the idea that Egypt was superior in anyway could only help the nation and its people.

_The idea of an Egyptian goddess would also help the nation. Having a way to show that the gods grant us their favor would be an uplift the spirits of the common people and nobles alike. _A sensible part of his mind told him.

He thought about that for a moment. But only a moment. He was not unused to using people for his own gain, and for the gain of those he cared for, but to use Kiara that way would be a disaster.

_Firstly, she would be a terrible goddess. Secondly, the only way she would have any recognition as a proper goddess was if she held a noble rank; meaning she would have to be the wife or concubine of a high noble._

The obvious choice for that would be Pharaoh. Isis, one of the names thought of for Kiara, was a wife of Pharaoh, and Bast was his protector.

But to sentence someone as young and lively as Kiara to be married to an old incompetent fool like Horemheb was nothing something Ramses was not cruel enough to consider. The current pharaoh could barely maintain control over his current queen without trying to add Kiara to the mix. She would ruin the court within a week.

It wasn't that he thought she was really _that_ much of a troublesome idiot, but she had no diplomacy. She said whatever she wanted, just as loudly as she could say it, and she didn't care who was listening.

He thought back to the time he had seen her cursing loudly in the garden. It was just after he had come to Byblos. She had been angry at being thought of as simply a bodyguard to lay her life down for the crown prince.

She had waited until she was alone to scream and rage though; in front of an audience she had kept her face blank and stayed quiet.

Just now she had tricked him into thinking she knew nothing of jewels and accessories. But obviously, she knew quite a bit since she had picked out such good items so quickly after being pushed into it.

What was with that reaction? She had sat there making him think she was an idiot, then the second he got close to her, she bolted up and ran out as soon as she was able.

Was it only around him that she acted so rash and brazen?

He tried to think of a time when she had been completely ill mannered to someone else.

She hadn't. She had been ridiculous and silly, _childish_ even, but only when she was speaking to him did she show her rage or anger.

_She's actually been holding back._ He thought in sudden realization. She wasn't truly as idiotic as she appeared to be.

The idea was startling. He had gotten so used to the knowledge that she was incompetent. But know he was suddenly realizing that she wasn't.

It was very strange. Strange that he had been so wrong about her. Strange that she had been tricking him and others for so long.

He couldn't actually believe she had been tricking him. And so easily it seemed. He wasn't easily tricked and deceived, but she had done it very well hadn't she?

He thought about it for a moment slowly. He didn't know her much at all did he? He wondered how else he was wrong about the woman.

What else was she holding back on? How else had she been deceiving him?

* * *

**A/N: More fluffy chapters? Lol I know, but it is interesting and character developing I think. And I promise within another week or two more interesting things should start to happen. Please review!**


	45. Challenge!

I'm here! I'm not late! No detention for me! :D Yah so I didn't post anything last week. Sorry. I went on vacation with my family and then had to work extra for my job so it was a busy week 2 weeks and I never got time to write everything up. This last week was really busy too with more extra work from that job. Boy it gets a little annoying when people want to run off and make it so you have to do their work. Also, this next week is going to be busy. I've started a second job which won't be so time consuming cause I'm practically just a fill-in but I might still be delayed with writing. But I'm not going anywhere and I'll write what I can and post it every possible Monday. :)

THANK YOU for the beautiful reviews! Ah I loved them SOOOO much! And you came up with such cute reviewer names too! So now it's not just, unknown 1, unknown 2, and so on. :) I wish I had time to write a reply to every review, but I don't so I'll just say that they were wonderful and they really made my day.

**THANK YOU BETA!**XD

**Ok! Onto the chapter! This one is pretty fun so enjoy, and review please!**

* * *

**45: Challenege!**

What was with that?

I ran through the long palace halls blindly. I wasn't really sure where I was going. Actually, I was lost. But I hadn't thought to ask any of the servants to show me to my room. I didn't really need to get back anyway.

What I _needed_ was to figure out just what had happened back in that sitting room.

It had been very easy to act the idiot they thought I was. I had always been a dramatic person. Acting was an easy job for me. It was also a very fun job. I mean come on, wasn't it just awesome to be able to be the school's hottest girl and meanest bitch one day, then get a new script, new costume and suddenly become the romantic interest of a James Bond like secret agent the next day? And then get praise and good reviews for each role? Acting was freaking awesome!

Plus it had been _so_ much _fun_ watching General becoming more and more frustrated as I continued to delay. It was so much fun watching his jaw clench tighter with every minute passing by and seeing him clench his hands into fists to keep himself in control.

Of course he couldn't do anything about it. If he tried, then he would risk ruining his whole little charade of me being the Queen's little shopping servant. Which would look bad on him and possibly make a big mess that he would have to be the one to clean up.

I had felt a little badly for Sertap though. I had realized that while he did believe women were silly and frivolous, he was actually a nice man. He tried to help me with advice that was actually very good. He was a good enough person, he just had a bad opinion on the female gender. So while I felt a little bad for him, I wasn't loosing any sleep over it.

I wasn't sorry for General though. He deserved _everything_ he got from me. He had not only bad opinions, but he was also a _jerk_ and an arrogant _pig_. I was still seething over that conversation on the boat, and then he had gone and basically said that girls were stupid people whose only use was to simply stand silently and look pretty.

I had been having fun making General wait and fume.

But then he had lost his patience I suppose.

He had grabbed onto my chin and suddenly our faces were very close together; his very strange and beautiful eyes boring directly into mine.

His closeness and touch had sent an unexpected and surprising shock into my skin. It had been a tingling and warm feeling.

That had been the thing that had made me jump up and get out of there as soon as I could.

That feeling, that shock, was what had me pacing through the halls now.

I was getting even more lost the more I wandered. I didn't really care though. But still, why did all these halls look the same? I'm absolutely certain I had passed that big ugly red jar five times. Either that, or this mayor had a fondness for big ugly red jars.

But I couldn't _understand_ it. I knew what that shock meant, or what it was supposed to mean. But it wasn't possible.

General and me? _Never_. I didn't want anything but distance from the man. Being around him, or being with him were simply unacceptable ideas.

So what was with the little spark?

I tried to think through it, to make sense of it. It was so weird and jumbled. I couldn't seem to get my thoughts straight right now. And I had just passed another ugly red jar.

Maybe I was wrong? Maybe what had happened was really just static shock or something. Maybe it didn't have anything to do with 'romantic chemistry'. That could be right?

I felt relieved at the thought of it being a mistake and I was extremely fond of static shock at the moment. But then I passed another red jar and it jolted me from my happiness and threw me back into this weird palace with lots of jars.

No. It wasn't likely that it had only been static. I had had a lot of boyfriends, so I knew very well what it felt like to be attracted to someone.

It feels nice. Its butterflies and fireworks and smiles and nervous excitement. Its every chick flick cliche and overused analogy.

I sighed thinking about all the sweet and beautiful relationships I had had. They hadn't lasted, but they had all been sweet and nice in their own way. Well, mostly all of them.

Then I saw another red jar. It freaked me out that there was yet another jar in the hallway I was in, so I turned and ran the other way trying to get away from the creepy ugly red jars that were everywhere.

Feeling that spark of attraction is a good feeling. Its like a sign, a warning that what you're looking for could be right there! I though happily to myself. I smiled dreamily just like in all the teenage movies about the girl who dreams of her prince charming and then miraculously finds him.

Then I remembered where I had felt that shock. From General. Instantly I was scowling, not smiling, and the thought of butterflies in my stomach turned into a gagging reflex.

_I'm so not attracted to him that it isn't funny! I _hate_ him! That's the only thing there is between us! Its hate and annoyance and angry festering feelings!_

I stopped and leaned back against the wall.

Festering? Where had that come from?

Now all I could think about was Meg Ryan in the movie 'French Kiss' talking about how things sit and fester deep inside you when you hold onto bad feelings.

Then I looked to my left and saw a a big, ugly, red jar sitting on the floor next to me.

I jumped away quickly. I turned and glared at the jar.

"Why are you following me? What are you spying on me?" I accused the jar angrily. It just sat there, all innocently and silent. Like, like it was just a plain old jar or something.

"Ha! I don't buy that! I don't trust you! I'm onto you, you ugly piece of pottery!" I declared pointing at the jar with my right index finger.

The jar continued to sit there silently.

I turned and quickly left the hall trying to find one without any evil jars.

I did find one, I stopped in that one and leaned against the wall again.

_How stupid. Jars don't follow people. They don't talk either. What would you have done if it had started talking to you? _I asked myself.

_I would have demanded a confession of its stalking and then I would have taken it to court. _I replied to myself sarcastically.

I scoffed lightly. The angel me and the devil me inside my head were arguing again. That only seemed to happen more often when I came here.

_When I get back to real civilization, I'm going to get a CAT Scan. _I resolved with a sigh.

But what to do while I was here? What to do with General?

_Why don't we make the jar stalk him? And drive him insane that way?_ My mind asked me evilly.

That was a fun idea.

_Or maybe I could put him inside the jar._

_Or hit him on the head with one._

I shook my head trying to get my thoughts back to a somewhat logical track. Hitting people with jars was ridiculous. Besides, I didn't really want General dead or insane. I just wanted him not around me.

That shock though, that possibly static, possibly romantic shock. What did it mean?

Did I really hate General or was that a lie?

I thought about him.

The first thing I thought of was his very good looks. That he was so very sexy, I couldn't deny.

Did that mean anything?

_Not necessarily. _I defended myself._I mean, Johnny Depp is incredibly hot but I wouldn't date him. He's a lot older than me for one thing. Not to mention that he's married._

The next thing I thought of about General was how irritating and superior and arrogant he was.

Basically after his hotness, all I thought of the man was that he was an ass.

_And he is! _I thought triumphantly. So all I thought of general was that he was an ass! A sexy one, for sure but still on ass!

_So what really happened was that I over thought it. Static shock had hit me and I had been suddenly faced with his hotness and I jumped to silly conclusions. Nothing serious or crazy at all! Just static shock! Like with socks!_

I sighed happily. Now that that was all cleared up I felt much better.

But...

_I'm lost. And there's an ugly red jar out to get me._

I glanced around the halls I was standing in. Where was I?

_Oh great. I go on a long winding walk through an unknown palace without paying any attention to where I'm headed, and now I'm lost. All because of that stupid jerk too. _I thought suddenly cross again.

I could have asked a servant where to go, but I didn't see one right now. If I went to look for one I would get even more lost probably. There had to be someone close by though, surely that someone could tell me where to go.

"And just where are you off to?" a cool voice sounded from next to me.

I yelped loudly and jumped away from the voice and its speaker as if stung.

General watched me with his usual stoic face.

_Where the hell...when did he get there?_ I wondered trying to get my racing heart to calm down. The bastard had really startled me.

Daddy would be very unhappy with me. Not only do I wonder around aimlessly thinking about stupid things and getting lost—thinking stupid things about a guy no less! But I had also let someone sneak up on me very easily. I really had lost almost all of the skills he had taught me.

That was a very unhappy thought.

I tried to think of something to say to General. But for a moment I couldn't think of anything. Then I shook my head and practically dragged my mind back on track.

"What_ever_ are you talking about?" I asked crossing my arms over my chest.

* * *

Ramses watched her carefully, fully on his guard now that he knew she was deceptive.

"What were you trying to do before?" Ramses asked dismissing his earlier question. It was quite obvious to him that she had gotten herself lost by wandering around too much. He'd had quite a time finding her.

Kiara's chin lifted up in a show of defiance, but he did see a light flush on her cheeks. In embarrassment perhaps? For what? Being caught? He hoped so.

"What are _you_ babbling about now?" she asked coldly.

Despite the fact that he was very annoyed with this woman for her brazen attitude, he was also becoming so very amused. She was actually trying to deceive him again? When he quite obviously had discovered her tricks?

"You showed quite an impressive amount of taste in your selections for purchase. After two hours of dawdling of course." Ramses loomed down over her using his height to intimidate her.

Kiara's head had to fall back to look up at him, and she scowled at it. She obviously didn't like that he towered over her so much. She took a few steps back from him.

"I was just looking over everything to make sure I would pick the right stuff. What if I missed something? It could have been the most perfect thing in the whole wide world, and I would have missed it! Then I would never get the chance to get it again, and everything would be all ruined cause I missed it!"

She was rambling again. It was something she did often. It annoyed him.

"You wanted me to miss that perfect thing? Just to save yourself a little time, you wanted me to miss that perfect thing? When your little story depends on my being able to find that perfect thing? Then your little story would have flown all to little bitty bits, and it would have been your fault cause you rushed me to save yourself a few minutes of time!

"And I couldn't just pick everything because I have to act like a normal woman from around here right? That soft, sweet, quite type woman you men seem to like so much? I wouldn't want to ruin you, or cause problems by being something other than that type of _perfect_ woman!"

She was going on and on again. Why didn't she stop? It was a useless game now. He saw right through it.

"Are you quite finished?" he asked when she was done ranting. She glared at him.

"Now, that was a nice try. Perhaps someone with less intelligence would have fallen for that long, winding excuse. You were trying to distract me were you not? Trying to distract me with the subject of more docile women, and my own excuses and reasons for your existence in this place. That way, you hoped that I would begin to argue with you about your _very_ imperfect attitude as a woman. Either that, or you hoped I would become angry with your implied insults to me and my character."

Ramses raised an eye brown and stared down into her startled blue eyes. "Isn't that about it?" he asked mockingly.

Kiara opened and closed her mouth for a minute. She couldn't seem to think of what to say now. He was certain now that the flush on her cheeks—which had darkened to a brighter pink—was in fact caused by her embarrassment. She had obviously thought that he would simply berate her for her ramblings as he usually did. She hadn't expected him to see past them this time. It amused him greatly to see her this way.

"By the gods are you silent for once? I had thought such a thing was beyond even the gods' power to accomplish." Ramses coolly said with mock surprise.

Kiara scowled at him and marched directly up to him and stood up on the balls of her feet so she could put her face as close to his as possible.

"You're an arrogant, _ignorant_, jackass, and if I _ever_ have the chance to drag you down off your throne, to the ground, where you belong, I would take that chance in a heartbeat." she hissed as she glared directly into his eyes.

There was no embarrassment, or fear in her now. Only anger, resentment, and a challenge.

If it was a challenge she wanted, then he would accept her challenge gladly. And he meant to win it.

"An ass am I? Well you, are a viper among women. A snake with a venomous tongue, who is coiled and ready to strike at the slightest provocation. A creature who is wholly, and completely, vicious and irrational. And I shall take every opportunity to grind you to heel and make you see your true place in this world." His words were soft, but deadly, like the most invisible and lethal poison.

Her eyes grew wide at his words, and her breathing became shorter.

Smirking at her expression of shock and slight nervousness, Ramses leaned down to place his lips by her ear.

"I shall win this challenge little girl." he purred to her softly.

She ran.

Ramses watched her flee with satisfaction. This could turn into a promising contest. He was entirely serious in his declaration to win. He meant to. So far, she was the one fleeing, and he was already the victor.

* * *

Somehow in my rush to get away, I stumbled into the hall that housed my room.

I slammed the door shut behind me as soon as I was inside the small stately bedroom. I leaned shakily on the door with small shallow breaths.

What had he just said?

It was harsh and cruel. And he meant it. I could feel the menace in him as he said it. He _meant_ it. He meant to crush me, and break me into one of those weak, docile women he, and the men of his time seemed to prefer.

I knew I had started it, by insulting and threatening him first, but he had so seriously and dangerously threatened me back.

A challenge? That was what this would be to him? A challenge? A _game_?

_And he's going to do what it takes to win this game. _I thought with nervousness.

Had I really just entered some sort of cat and mouse game with him?

I sank to the floor with the solid door at my back for support. Numbly, I brought my knees up to my chest and wrapped my arms around them, leaning my head down to fall on my arms.

What had just happened?

Whatever it was, I hadn't meant it to happen at all.

_Oh, this is a problem. Maybe I should send the jars after him after all._

* * *

I was unhappy. Somewhat nervous and moody. And what do I do when I feel that way?

Well usually I'd get some yummy sugary or greasy food and chill out for a while with a movie or a book or something. However, since the nearest Dairy Queen hadn't been invented yet, I was without any fattening foods to cheer me up. So I went for the next best thing.

I paced through my room listening to my MP3 player.

Why was I pacing? I couldn't seem to sit still. I was sorta freaking out here. Which wasn't unusual for me of course. So I paced.

And the only thing I was seeing while I paced was that freaking big ugly _brown_ jar sitting in the corner of my room. I did try to look away from it, but it just seemed to grow bigger and move into my vision range so that I _had_ to look at it again. I think it was daring me to stare at it.

But anyway enough with the jars. This palace was too full of big, ugly, stupid jars.

He had practically declared all out _war_ on me. Which was my own fault cause I opened up my mouth first. Stupid me. I needed to find a class. Do they have classes that teach you to shut the hell up? Well there should be one. I think it would have a lot of students.

In my unhappy mood, I was listening to unhappy music. I thought it fit very well.

But I have a lot of music on my MP3 player. and I mean a lot. All of those songs go into play-lists. A lot of them go into more than one playlist. Some of the lists have all sad songs; some have all happy songs or dance songs or mad songs. And then I have a lot of peppy, 'go get them!', _challenge_ like songs. And some of my play-lists started out slow and sad, and gradually became happy.

I was listening to a playlist that started slowly at first. I was brooding. I had to give myself time to brood properly. Time to call myself ten kinds of idiot and time to call General twenty kinds of jerk.

But I wasn't going to brood forever. I'm not a brooding type person. Not for very long at least. I bounce back fast enough.

The playlist I had on was bouncing back too.

I stopped pacing and went to sit on my bed. I grinned.

A Bryan Adams song was playing now. "Get Off Of My Back" from a movie soundtrack. It was an awesome song. It was about a game too.

"So you think you can take me on? You must be crazy." I sang softly as I stood up from the bed and moved over to my bag. I had left it on the low table in the center of the room. I turned off my MP3 player and placed it back inside my bag. Then I fished through it for a moment looking for my weapon of choice.

I grinned, still singing to myself when I found what I was looking for. It was such a small item. So easy to find and use and so common place.

In my time. For General, it would be one of the strangest things.

_You always told me to play hard and play to win Daddy, no matter what the game was. You always said I was a little spitfire and I could do just about anything I wanted. Except learn to cook right._

_Well, I'm gonna play this game, and I'm going to win it. Cause cowgirls don't cry; they're just full of gunpowder and lead._

I stood up and went to the door and walked back out into the hall. It would be dinner soon I was sure. And I would start with my game-plan after that. General would never know what hit him.

The thought made me smile.

"Oh but if you wanna have a go, I just wanna let you know. Yeah, Get off of my back! And into my game. Get out of my way! And out of my brain. Get out of my face, or give it your best shot! You know this train is coming off this track, get off of my back!"

* * *

**XD So this is going to be fun! What is Kiara planning and what will Ramses do? The next chapter should be more fun, fluffy, war between the two of them, and then we'll be getting a little serious again. Review please and tell me what you think!**

Also, where did the jars come from? I don't know. I was literally, just writing along and then just randomly added in all those jars. Poor Kiara. I'm somewhat mean to her :)


	46. Tricks

**LATE! I know I am. Sorry. Anyway**, this chapter was hard to write for some reason. I couldn't seem to get into the story much enough to write it well. But with annoying persistance and help from my awesome beta, here is the next chapter. Now we see what Kiara's plan is. ;)

Thanks to all of you who review and thanks to all who read this story! Please keep reviewing and reading! :)

* * *

**46: Tricks**

Feeling wary, Ramses glanced at Kiara again.

The evening meal had progressed very smoothly. Ramses and the mayor had conversed together easily, and Kiara had been unusually quiet. She was more than unusually quiet in fact. Since she had sat down at the table for the meal, she had only given small, soft answers to the conversations directly aimed at her. To that effect, she had barely said a word as the mayor was of the opinion that women should remain mostly silent.

It unnerved him slightly to see her so quiet and so...docile. She was acting the way she expected him to think women should act. Like a meek little shadow. He didn't particularly have that exact opinion about women, but he certainly did think that Kiara needed to learn to be more silent and less stubborn.

But the way she was acting now was far too out of character for her.

She was planning something. That was obvious. What was she planning? She'd spoken earlier as if she had some great way to try and bring about his 'downfall'. Did she honestly think that she had a way to hurt him? That was ridiculous. She had proven to be sneaky and unpredictable, but it was very obvious to him that she was simply stumbling around here. If she had had less luck, then she would have gotten into a lot more trouble by now.

He wasn't worried. No, he certainly wasn't worried. But he was wary. What was she up to? And how public would she make her actions? He didn't need her making a big fuss and causing other problems for him.

He was slightly excited though. Her antics and attempts to 'wound' him might prove to be interesting and entertaining. It would surely be amusing.

He wasn't worried. Just anticipating what she would do. Depending on her actions, he would start his own attack against her. It was only a small matter of time before things got interesting he was sure. Kiara had no patience; she would do whatever it was she had planned very soon. Then he would retaliate, and the game would have begun.

* * *

Sitting through dinner so quietly was torture! I used my absolute best manners. I was the perfect picture of a graceful, demure, young lady. Which was a pain in the ass to pretend to be. I can't believe women had to act that way for thousands of years. I would have died young too if I had to live that way all my life.

I noticed that General would glance over at me quite often. I seemed to be confusing him, poor man. I mean, earlier I was so annoying and mean to him, and now I'm all timid and quiet? He must be confused about all of this. It was _so_ much fun to mess with his head!

_And soon he'll be even more confused!_ I giggled to myself with glee. Briefly I asked myself why I was such an evil person, but I didn't really care much about the answer.

_He needs someone to be evil to him. He thinks he's so high above everyone, that someone has to show him how low he really is. _I thought self-righteously.

And once dinner was finally, _finally_ over, I was actually able to implement my evil little plan.

Dinner ended, and I was basically dismissed. General and the mayor went off to a different room for drinks.

I never understood why people did that. They just had dinner and drinks. Why do they have to go to a whole other room to drink some more? Its not like the dinning room here wasn't comfortable. It was a low set table with big fluffy couches and pillows for chairs. It was _extremely_ comfortable. So why go to a whole other room just to drink more wine and gossip more? Couldn't they have done that just as easily in the dinning room?

This strange question continued to run through my head as I waited outside the door to General's room. Whenever it was that he came back, I would be waiting for him.

Until then, I was kneeling on the floor staring at the big ugly red jar that was sitting on the floor at the opposite wall from me; it figured.

There had been servants waiting outside of General's room as well. I had already noticed that the servants here in Egypt had very unhappy jobs. Many had to stand outside a door, or at a corner, all day just in case someone called for them. I was sure that the hours of standing still and quiet in case some rich brat wanted a glass of water was very tiring. Poor servants.

Anyway since I didn't want an audience, and since I felt bad for the poor kid who was standing there waiting for any type of order, I dismissed him. He didn't leave easily, arguing that he couldn't leave his post until someone else came to take it from it. The kid could have only been ten or so, but he was still very persistent and stubborn in doing his job properly. Eventually, instead of dismissing him I had to give him something else to do so that he would go away. I sent him off with the orders of taking the ugly jar from my room outside and filling it with sand. It was a ridiculous order, and the kid was obviously confused and unhappy to get it, but it got rid of him, and he would be away for a while I was sure.

Briefly I wondered what my actions would be seen as.

Here I was, just sitting outside of General's room, late at night, all alone, obviously waiting for him.

_Pft, whatever. _I scoffed not really caring right now. I was having a staring match with the jar. If it made any wrong movements, then I could pounce on it and end everything.

Then again, if it made _any_ movements I would most likely freak out and have a panic attack.

Anyway...

After another long while, General came down the hall towards his room.

I knew he saw me; his eyebrow raised when he did. But even if he saw me, I felt that I needed an entrance to announce myself.

I leaped to my feet and threw my hands high into the air.

"BOO!" I shrieked loudly. General stopped and looked at me like I was an idiot. It was a common look for him I think. When it was directed at me anyway.

"_Boo_?" he questioned rolling the word around on his tongue like it was the weirdest thing he had ever said.

"Yeah sure, whatever." I said waving my hand offhandedly. "Anyway, I have something for you." I said putting my hands behind my back and leaning forward with a bright smile on my face.

He turned to face me fully. His feet were planted, and his arms were crossed over his chest. Which was bare in its usual fashion. Which was exactly what I wanted right now.

Because of my evil plan, _not_ because it made him hot or anything! Even though it totally did...but anyway! _Moving_ on here!

"Really?" he asked warily. His face was stone like again, giving me no clue as to what he was thinking. But he was probably wondering what the heck was I up to.

Well he was about to find out. Really soon even. Like, right now.

I leaped forward at him with a wide grin. I took something out of the sash I was wearing, and brought it right up against General.

He had been very startled when I suddenly jumped him. His arms had shot out and grabbed onto my shoulders trying to hold me back.

But I was still close enough to reach forward and touch his chest.

He would have felt a strange, somewhat damp pressure move across his chest as I quickly finished my evil plan.

He shoved me away and stepped back, looking down at himself then at me.

Smirking widely, I capped the black Sharpie I had just used to write on his skin.

With a glare at me, he rubbed at the black ink on his chest only for it to remain firmly in place.

Such is the wonder of a Sharpie. You really have to scrub it with soap and water for it to come off. Of course you did that then it came off easily, but just rubbing it wouldn't remove a thing. But I wasn't going to tell him that. He would have to figure it out for himself.

"What strange magic is this?" he asked with an incredulous voice.

"It's called a _marker_. I use it to write on stuff. Just like you!" I exclaimed happily practically bouncing with joy.

"What markings are these then?" he asked tracing the outline of what I had written on him.

I frowned realizing that while I had written it in plain English, he couldn't read plain English.

_Well it's not like I can read and write in hieroglyphs. _I thought with a sigh. So much for my perfect plan. He couldn't read what I had written on him. The insult was lost then. Darn.

"It says 'JERK'." I said pointing to the marker ink on his chest. "As in, YOU are a JERK." _If I had remembered that he couldn't read it, I wouldn't have felt bad about putting 'bastard' or 'arrogant ass' on there._ I thought ruefully.

_Oh well, maybe I can fix that._

In a snap, I uncapped the Sharpie and leaped forward at General aiming for the exposed skin of his chest again.

He was more wary and prepared for me this time though. His hands grabbed onto my wrists keeping the Sharpie away from himself.

Naturally I refused to back down, and he refused to let me put more graffiti on him. So we struggled.

He was a lot taller and stronger than me which meant he had more advantage. But I was still a determined person, and even though I wasn't really the best bet to win this little battle of ours, I wasn't just gonna give up.

Besides, he was always underestimating me. And I did know lots of fun little fighting tricks.

I used one of the oldest ones in the book; it was very simple.

I hooked my foot around his ankle, and pulled hard.

Since he wasn't expecting me to do anything like that, and since most of his attention was on the Sharpie that he didn't near his skin, he lost his balance.

He fell down. Since he was holding onto my wrists, I fell with him.

He landed flat on his back, and I fell on top of him.

I sat up onto my knees and quickly wrote a few choice words on the man's chest.

For just the briefest second after we fell, I saw a look of shock on his face. He didn't usually show his emotions, but I had managed not only to surprise him, but to surprise him enough that he wasn't able to keep the expression completely off of his face.

_Well this has been a day well spent. _I smirked as I took stock of the colorful phrases I had written. Let's just say, that I wasn't very _polite_ with what I chose to say.

General was looking up at me with his usual stoic, all stony face. Still, he wasn't able to keep the annoyance out of his expression completely. I just kept smirking at him. I had won this time, and now I would see what he had to say about that.

And he did say something. It just wasn't what I was expecting.

"No my dear." he drawled with a faint air of exasperation. Then suddenly, he flipped us.

I had been sitting on him since that was how we fell. But now, I was the one laying on the floor, and he was the one looming over me.

"Women, are the ones on the bottom." General smirked down at me as he held me to the floor. I felt my face burn red as I heard what he said and understood the meaning behind it.

_The damn pervert! Why is everything about sex with him?_

"I, I, I!" I stuttered not knowing how to respond quite yet. I'm sure given a second or two I would think up something nicely vicious and mean to shout. But right now, I was very distracted by the fact that he was _on top of me_, with his hands on my shoulders, holding me onto the floor, and he was smirking down at me like he thought he was hot stuff.

And he is, but he's not. You know what I mean? I mean he's hot, totally so; but he's not a nice person. Not at all a nice person!

"Since you seem to be confused about such things, perhaps I should teach you about them a little." General still smirked as one of his hands started stroking my arm while the other moved up to my neck.

"You—me, I!" I spurted feeling outraged and embarrassed; again. It seemed to be a trend with him around. Feeling angry and embarrassed. "You're a jerk! Get off me!" I shouted directly into his smug face. Then I pushed and kicked and squirmed until I was on my feet and running fast in the other direction.

Wouldn't you know that I tripped right over that ugly red jar? I think it got in my way on purpose. Stupid thing was conspiring against me!

Not turning around or stopping, I ran back to my room for the second time that day and slammed the door behind me.

_Damn _bastard_!_

It was the only thought running through my mind for the rest of the night.

* * *

Ramses decided that he had once again won the little fight between himself and Kiara. She had again been the one to run off.

Although she had managed to be very annoying before she had flown. She had called that thin long object a 'marker'? Well it certainly put marks on his skin. They were just now coming off after quite a bit of water and scrubbing.

He would have to do something about that. She had to know she couldn't just do something that might have public repercussions such as putting black marks on his skin.

_She probably will not be getting so close to me for a while, however._ He thought with a small smirk. It was very obvious that the easiest way to fluster and anger her was to try and get to close and _intimate_. She seemed to become very agitated over the smallest touches, and just a few choice words. It amused him immensely to see her reactions to that, and it was a simple way to get back at her.

Still, he would have to find a way to repay her for this 'marker' incident. He had a few ideas about what to use as well.

He couldn't believe that she had managed to get to him again. He should have been more careful the moment he saw her waiting for him in the hallway by his door. But he hadn't been careful enough and as a result, she had put marks onto his skin, then she had managed to push him down and remark him.

He was the best General in Egypt and a little _girl_ had managed to overpower him? It was ridiculous. It was laughable. If such things kept up and someone witnessed them then his pride and name would forever be damaged.

It wasn't as if she was like other women though. She was too unpredictable. He had had no idea what she was planning in the few seconds it took for her to jump at him. She was too different in the most annoying and irritating ways. He could never seem to predicate what she was planning and what she was going to do which meant that he was always underestimating her. It was a usual problem for him. People were easy to figure out; especially women. They always had something they wanted and it was usually so easy to figure out what actions they would take to get it. But even if he knew what Kiara wanted, he had no idea what she would do to get what she wanted. She was foreign to him in ever way, from her appearance, to her attitude, to her actions. He couldn't understand her, but if he was going to have to stay around her, he needed to know how to handle her before she did something else to damage him and his pride. Possibly in front of witnesses this time.

He sighed and leaned back on the large and soft bed. He was tired. It had been a long day and eventful day, and he was glad for the end of it. He had many things to do tomorrow though. And he needed to be well rested and prepared for all of them.

Dealing with Kiara would be a fun game, but it would have to wait a while; though not too long a while. He didn't want her to think he was letting her go.

No, she wasn't going to get away.

He would win, and that was the truth of the matter.

* * *

I glared at my food as I ate it silently. I was _not_ happy.

Damn General. I do not like him at all. In the _least_. Even the tiniest bit. I will never like him. Ever.

He was so annoying.

This morning I was sleeping. It was freaking like one hour after dawn! Of course I was sleeping! Apparently the people in this era didn't like to sleep after the sun was up. And sure, I understand that. They don't have 100 Watt light bulbs to do their work under after dark. They have to be up and around when the sun is shining.

But why should I be up then? Especially when I don't have any type of job to do!

Whatever stupid logic General was using was _so_ flawed.

Not that he had had a reason for it. He had done it just to annoy me.

I had been in my bed, sleeping peacefully. And then the sheet—which was wrapped around me—was pulled away very quickly and very roughly.

The next thing I knew, I was falling onto the floor in a harsh wake up call.

The first thing I saw from the floor, was General's feet as he stood over me with that damn annoying smirk.

He was _so_ pleased with himself for giving me such a sweet wake up call.

If I had been wearing that flimsy _see_-_through_ thing these people called a _nightgown_, and he had seen me, then I would have killed him.

I am not even kidding.

As it was, I was wearing my softball shorts and t-shirt to bed again.

I grumbled to myself now as I remembered how the man had made it out of the room before I could do him bodily harm. He wouldn't have understand all the things I was yelling at them since half were English, Spanish, or Japanese, but he should be smart enough to get the gist of what I was saying.

_Damn Egyptian with his stupid ideas and big head._

The only good thing for this morning was that Egyptians had the same idea as I did about breakfast.

It was light and simple. They apparently didn't eat much in the morning which was something I agreed with. Also, since skillets had been invented yet, there was the distinct lack of cooking bacon, eggs, sausage and all of those type foods. Which I was glad for. I like breakfast food; just not for breakfast. Most of the breakfast-type foods had a cooking smell that made me sick in the morning.

Because I'm _not_ a morning person. At _all_. I can live with it if I have to, but if I can get away with it, I sleep in. Usually til 10 or 11.

Which was why I was thinking of ways to murder that dumb General.

Of course though, as much as their dinners and _drinks_ were big social meals, breakfasts were something that the rich and fashionable Egyptians did in the privacy of their own rooms.

_Probably so they can sleep a little longer then eat in bed. _I groused unhappily. Stupid General. As much as I preferred this nice small fruit and bread breakfast to something fatty and greasy, I would still have been more than happy to give it up and sleep for a few more hours.

_He was probably just trying to get back at me for drawing on him with a Sharpie. Not like he didn't deserve it. And he already got back at me! With that little...little..._stunt_! In the hallway!_

Why did he always do that? Was he like that with every woman? Whenever something started to not go his way, he'd resort to perverted underhanded tricks to get his way? Did he use that tactic with other guys too? When he starts to lose to other guys does he start telling them all about the women he's had?

I could totally see him doing that. I could totally see him being the horrible, heartbreaking player who liked to brag about his ability to get women easily.

_And he thinks he can try that crap on me? Na uh! No way! I'm totally not like the other bimbos who just fall for pretty words and good looks! Sure I might get a little flustered and all that, but when it comes right down to it, I know better than to trust any guy who's so obviously a player like him!_

I ranted on and on inside my head. That was what I had been doing all morning and most of the night, so why stop now?

General wasn't even here to rant at. He had cowardly run off after waking me up. He should have been a man and stayed here to take what he had coming to him! But instead he left. I supposed I'll have to give him a black eye to match the black Sharpie marks some other time...

Though it would have been really nice to get to do it today. Like, right now.

I was glaring at the food that I was no longer eating.

I hadn't noticed that someone had come into the room behind me.

I did notice when someone started breathing right into my ear and down my neck which was bare since I had my hair up in a high ponytail as usual.

"You seem to be upset about something." a masculine voice whispered from, literally, an inch away from me.

I shrieked loudly and jumped forward, away from the voice and its owner.

As I did so the tray with my food spilled over and stained the bed sheets, also covering me in the water from my glass and whatever food I hadn't eaten.

Stomping on the floor to get the pieces of bread and juicy fruits off of me, I turned to glare at General who stood there smirking. He was obviously pleased with himself again.

Was he only happy when he was saying raunchy things or causing me embarrassment? Things which coincided often, I might add.

I stomped toward him intent on doing all I could to rip him apart.

"You dumb horrible jerk! I oughta—"

My tirade was stopped as he quite coolly put his hand directly in front of my face.

I stopped puzzled as I looked at his hand which was holding something. I reached up with a frown and took that something from his hand.

It was a small tablet. One of the writing kinds that these people used cause they had no paper and pencils. And it was small. Maybe about 2 inches squared. It had some hieroglyphs on it.

"What's this?" I asked puzzled. I turned it over and the back looked just like the front. What did it say?

"That is for you." General said coolly with his stoic mask back in place on his face. "You may have that while you stay inside this palace all day. I have business to take care." he turned on his heel and started to leave.

"Wait a minute! You're just gonna leave me here all alone? Without anyone?" I shouted shocked. He obviously didn't like me around, but I never figured he'd just up and leave me on my own in a strange place for a whole day. Well, maybe it had occurred to me, but I didn't like the idea, so I pushed it aside and ignored it usually. I know, how childish and naive of me.

He stopped at the door and turned to look back at me.

"That is why you will stay in this palace. The servants have been instructed to see to your needs, but you have to stay here. Do not go and get into trouble, I have no time for you today."

Without another word, His Imperial General the _Jerk_ left the room.

I stared after him for a moment, holding the tablet in one hand, my mouth opened stupidly in shock.

Then I screamed wordlessly in my frustration.

* * *

Ramses smirked as he heard Kiara scream in anger while he continued walking down the hall away from her room. That was twice this day that he had gotten to her already.

And just wait until she found a way to read that tablet.

* * *

"It says WHAT?" I shouted outraged.

The poor servant boy who had just told me what the tablet I had been given said trembled as I screamed. He was the same boy who I had sent off the night before. The boy was young and small and very skinny, and I was taller than him. Plus I was furious! The poor boy had a right to be afraid with the way I was acting. I felt bad for him, but I really just couldn't believe it.

"How dare he! HOW DARE HE! BASTARD!" I hissed loudly as I paced around in a circle. The servant watched helplessly unable to leave until he was called for a different task, or until I sent him away.

I was seething. It was intolerable of him! Oh dare he! He wanted to get back at me for what I did? Bastard! Even the servant boy, who I'm sure was supposed to remain aloof and professional, was red faced.

How dare he write something like that about me! _To_ me! Bastard! I'll tear him into pieces.

But he was gone. I couldn't do anything to him while he wasn't here.

_I'll fill his room with hundreds of red ugly jars. _I thought furious. But that was a bad idea. I didn't want to go near the jars to move them into his room, and I wasn't about to tell servants to do it. Can you image the gossip that would lead to? 'Oh, that strange brown-headed girl had us move all these jars into the General's room.'

I could probably imagine what they might say about that, but that would take my mind away from all the other wonderful imaginings I was having; most of which involved maiming that stupid jerk.

I couldn't lay a hand on him though, and vandalizing his room, though an appealing idea, seemed to be a bad plan. The servants would clean any mess I made before he even came back to view it, and I didn't really want to destroy any of his stuff, cause I had no idea what it was worth or what it did. Plus, being the modern person that I am, I was strangely adverse to the idea of destroying ancient stuff like that. Not that any of it would survive past another hundred years probably, but I had gone to so many museums when I was younger, and they all lectured on and on about preserving the past and being careful with the artifacts.

And as much as I was living in it right now, this whole world was an artifact to me.

So what could I do to get back at him? I hated the idea of waiting til he got here. That would take all day. He had walked out of my room so superior and proud. I had to do something now! Even if he didn't know I was doing it.

What had he told me to do? And what had he told me _not_ to do?

I stopped my angry pacing and grinned. The poor servant boy paled somewhat. That was a little insulting, but then he had had to read me the tablet and then witness my fury after wards. So maybe the boy was right to be somewhat afraid of me.

General had told me to stay inside, and out of trouble.

Well, I wanted to cause _him_ trouble. And why should I be forced to stay inside when he was out and about, and when I came here to see Egypt anyway?

I didn't bother to say goodbye to the servant or to anyone else.

I ran back to my room and grabbed the shawl that would cover my hair and face.

Then I made my way outside, sneaked out of the palace walls, and into the open streets of Hutwaret.

* * *

**A/N: That chapter was longer than usual **and I almost made it longer but I decided to cut it here. What did Kiara write on Ramses and what did he write on the tablet he gave her? I'm not even going to guess. You guys can imagine it for yourselves ;D. Please review!


	47. UhOh

**SOOOOO SORRY!**

* * *

**47: Uh-Oh**

It was easy enough to get out of the palace. There were many servants going out a small side door in the back. There were of course guards there to watch who went in and out, but the guards weren't paying much attention, and I was able to slip by easily. The shawl wrapped around my head helped me blend in very well with the other female servants, and I had no problems.

Once I was out of the walls I loosened the shawl from my neck a little so that I could breathe more easily without the fabric strangling me.

_Now__, __to __see __Egypt __while __disobeying__—__and __therefore __annoying__—__General __at __the __same __time__. _I thought with a smile.

I wandered around the streets and alleys with no real destination in mind. Naturally.

No I hadn't forgotten that I'd gotten in trouble for wandering off the last time; I just didn't care. Like I was really gonna just sit around in a big palace filled with evil, ugly jars and twiddle my thumbs all day like a good little girl?

No. _Heck_, no. I left that palace, and was finding something to do for myself. I could take care of myself well enough. Besides, General would come find me at some point I'm sure. He seemed to be good at finding me. Maybe he was a bloodhound in another life or something.

And yes I know I was acting like a spoiled child. So sue me. Everyone is quite entitled to be stupid sometimes. We learn that way. Or we don't. So I was going to see what I could learn by being a stupid idiot wandering around on her own again just to bother an even stupider idiot.

Fight fire with fire? Yeah I know. Dumb idea. I couldn't bring myself to care right now. I'm such a hypocrite...

Oh well. I wasn't inclined to care. I was in a somewhat foul mood that General had caused, so let's see where that gets me huh?

Egypt so far was rather nice looking. I mean there wasn't any trash in the streets, nor was there any druggies or homeless people wandering around asking for change. So far, it was nicer than lots of places in NY and LA.

_I __think __I__'__m __still __in __the __Hampton __part __of __town __though__. _I noticed as I looked around at the pristine tall buildings and well built houses. Yes, this was the rich part of town. If I really wanted to see what Hutwaret was like, and get into any real trouble, I would have to go further into the city.

_Ok __then__! __Let__'__s __go__! _I thought feeling like an insane thrill junkie. Go off and get lost and in lots of potentially dangerous trouble? Sure why not. I have a few open hours in my schedule today.

So I was wandered around, seeing what I could see and what mischief I could cause. Maybe something really fun would happen; maybe I would start another party like the one at Byblos.

It turns out, that I didn't actually end up wandering all that far from the palace. I was only a few streets or blocks or whatever away from the walls that I had sneaked out of, when I saw something interesting.

It was a man, sitting at a little table in some sort of little side garden to a nice, large, but not overly huge house. The garden was open to the street with no gate to block it off, but the door was put into the wall in such a way that if you weren't looking around carefully enough, you'd walk right by and not even notice that there was a break in the wall. Since I was looking for something interesting, I did see the break in the wall, and the garden inside it, with the man in that garden.

What was the really interesting thing, was that there was this weird game-type thing on the table in front of the man. It was a box, maybe two inches tall, three inches wide and ten inches long. The inside of the box was a drawer that held lots of strange pieces. Some were tall and pointy like tiny little mountains while others looked more like mushrooms. The top of the box was made up of squares, 3x10.

It was a game. They had games this far back? Well I had known they did have games at some point back in this time era. So maybe I wasn't actually that far back?

_That __might __not __be __a __good __thing__; __didn__'__t __Rome __come __and __conquer __Egypt __at __some __point__? __I __don__'__t __think __I __want __to __be __here __when __that __happens__._ I decided quickly. But then I looked back at the game. It looked very interesting, and I _was_ looking for something to do. Plus, when I had last played a game with anyone?

I was standing there unsure of what to do. Obviously, I kinda wanted to see what it was, and if I could play, but would this guy let me? Didn't all the guys here have some weird caveman ideas about women? He probably wouldn't want to let me play, and he probably would think it was really weird of me to just show up in his little garden and want to play a game in the first place.

"Your hiding is of no use, I am aware of your presence." The man spoke up loudly. I blinked slowly. How did he know I was there? He wasn't facing my direction, and I had been very quiet.

"Why don't you stop standing there mutely, and come tell me why you are spying on me in my own garden?" the man spoke up again, but he never turned away from his little game.

This could be one of those times in the horror movies when everyone screams: "Don't go on there!" but just like in all those movies I didn't think there would be any harm in going and looking. I could probably punch this guy out of something bad started to happen. And who said anything bad was going to happen anyway? It all seemed perfectly normal and all right to me.

_I might as well go in. If something weird happens then I'll bash him on his head and run real fast._ I decided slowly stepping through the wall opening and into the small garden.

It was very well kept even if it wasn't large. The walls around it, including the wall to the house it was beside, were covered with all sorts of different greenery none of which I recognized. I hadn't actually known so many different plants could survive the harsh heat of the desert. Well, I hadn't bothered to think about it much. I suppose that if I had thought about it, then I would have figured there were a lot of desert plants; but I just never thought about it. Well whether I had thought about it or not, there were lots of plants in here, so obviously, they could deal with the heat.

There wasn't any grass though; the ground was covered in smooth cobblestone type rocks. Well that's what they looked like. It was also surprisingly well swept even though the streets were covered in dirt and sand. This guy obviously took care of his area. At least I think it would have been him. I didn't see any servants hanging around, and they usually were somewhere nearby in case their master needed something. And this guy obviously wasn't a servant. I could clearly see gold armbands on his wrists, and the clothing that covered him was pure white. Only the rich people had pure white clothes and gold jewelry here.

I came up to within a few feet of the small table and the man sitting at it before I stopped. I hadn't said a word yet, and he hadn't said anything else either. It was quiet.

The man shifted, and then he turned to look at me.

"Now tell me, what is a young thing like you is doing wandering around on her own?" The man said softly, but still commandingly.

I was faintly surprised by him.

His possible age baffled me. I could see in his eyes, in the faint lines around his eyes and mouth, that he had been around for a while and had seen a lot of stress and hardness. But he did not seem old or weak. In fact, he was very muscular and well built. His shoulders were wide and his arms and chest were board and strong. His chin was shaved smooth, and his head was covered by a pure white head cloth. His eyes were bright and clear and brown-colored, and he was a rather good looking man. I couldn't guess his age. He was probably older than he looked; a man who aged well and kept himself in shape.

"I'm alone?" I remarked questioningly. He was strangely observant; very much so. I was curious about it; about him.

He raised an eyebrow at me slightly. "You are alone. No one is with you."

Now that sounded like a creepy line from a horror movie or whatever except that he wasn't saying it like a threat or anything ominous. It was a statement; an observation that he was voicing aloud.

I crossed my arms over my chest and stared down at him steadily. "Yes I am. Are you going to tell me that I'm a bad little girl running off on her own, and I should go find some man to keep me safe?" I dared him to do it. I dared him to tell me I was helpless and weak just because I was a girl. Then maybe I would shout at him a lot and offend him, and then he'd take it up with General, and my mission for causing trouble would be achieved, and I'd have the added bonus of getting to tell a man off for being the pompous jerks that all men in this time seemed to be.

The man snorted and turned back to his game. "If you are so weak that you need a man around just to take a small walk in broad daylight, then you shouldn't be let out of your house in the first place. There is no reason that you cannot go out on your own if you're capable." he replied gruffly.

I, quite frankly, was stunned. That was the first time anyone in this era had _ever _said something like that. The first time anyone had said that it was OK for me to be able to be independent and not have someone—obviously a man—around to take care of me.

I promptly sat in the unoccupied seat across from this strange guy. "That, is the first time anyone had said that to me." I told him frankly. He nodded, probably expecting that.

"You aren't like the others from around here are you?" I asked eying him up and down again. He glanced up from his game and fixed me with a sharp stare.

"Others? Such as those lack-wits, born to wealth and privilege, but with no sense? If I am nothing like them, then I feel satisfied." he announced looking back to his game.

I felt a surge of like for the man. He was frank; blunt even. Not worrying about tact and social rules for what to say, and what not to say about the people higher up in the 'food chain.' He also seemed more likely to stick with his own opinions rather than to follow the trend and pay much attention to gossip other than to scorn it.

"Are you still a serving as a soldier?" I asked. He looked up at me, and I pointed to his hands. They were heavily calloused and scared in places. There were also a few faint scar lines on his arms. I couldn't see his chest since he was actually wearing a shirt, but I'm sure he had old scars there as well.

"No. I left the army when it became too oppressive to stay." he answered gruffly. I figured he was unhappy by that. He might have even been forced out of service.

"Why must people always try to gain complete control by grinding everything else underfoot?" I asked with annoyance as I fingered the edge of my shawl.

The man snorted but didn't answer right away. "If I could understand the stupidity of people then I would have had fewer sleepless nights." He answered bitingly.

I nodded. Then I sighed and bite my lip. It was hot, and I had a feeling that if I tried to go somewhere else I would just be met with more trouble than I really wanted right now. And yeah, I know I had wanted to cause trouble, but I kinda liked this guy who wasn't all caveman and ''you're a girl, you can't do anything''. So maybe the best thing for me to do, was to stay here and hang out with this guy.

I made a fast decision. I liked this guy. He was level headed and nice in a outspoken way. I think I could trust him not to freak out or cause the kind of problems that I didn't like. In other words, not treat me too different for some tiny thing like the color or my hair.

I reached up and took the shawl off of my head and shoulders. Without the heavy cloth wound around my skin I felt a lot cooler, and it was a relief to have it off.

And it left my different appearance in plain view.

The man's eyes widened slightly as he took in my brown hair and perhaps took further notice of my blue eyes. Then he seemed to shrug, and he looked back to his game.

"People who give too much credit to appearances are asking for trouble." he said dismissing my unusual looks and possibly the rumors about me being different as well. After all, what else was my ''goddess-ness'' but a name that people had put on me for strange occurrences?

I sighed with a smile. Yes, I liked this guy.

"What's your name soldier?" I asked grinning at him.

He snorted again. "Kel. And leave all that soldier nonsense out." he said pinning me with a long stare. I just continued to grin at him.

"Sir, yes sir!" I answered with a small salute which made him raise an eyebrow at me and then snort again. "I'm Kiara by the by. Pleased to meet a non-stupid, old soldier around here. I gave up hope for the intelligence of the human race." I said with a wink at Kel, and he snorted again, shaking his head at me this time as well. But I think he was amused under all his stiffness. I think he liked me, he just didn't want to admit it.

"So what are you playing?" I asked fingering the game board. It looked kinda like chess to me. Which was a game I was bad at. I have no patience of mind to sit there and plan 3 moves ahead and try to figure out what my opponent will be during 3 turns from now. I just moved a piece, and if I lost that way, then hey, you can't win everything right?

"This is the game _Senet_. A game favored among the gods, Osiris in particular." The man said waving a hand over the board.

In myths people talked about games that the 'gods' played. So the gods were supposed to have just sat around in clouds all day playing chess? That was ridiculous. But it wasn't, _isn't,_ my time, so I won't make a big fuss over it. And I suppose that if the gods wanted to just play games all day that was their choice. What was it to me?

"So you're just sitting here playing by yourself?" I asked wondering if I should feel bad for this guy having to play by himself.

He fixed me with another long stare, and I decided that he probably would have rather been able to play in peace and quiet without another person around to bother him.

Which made me somewhat uncomfortable. I was here bothering him wasn't I? But he liked me, so I wasn't too guilty. At least I think he liked me. A little. In a nice daughter or niece type way.

"You're greatest opponent is always yourself." he said firmly. I'm sure that was good advice. And very truthful. But it still didn't talk away from the fact that he was playing a board game by himself. How can you do that? You know what your opponent is planning cause he's _you_. So you either let one of your sides win or you sit there for hours trying to find a way to outsmart yourself.

And yes, I have seen that Disney Short Movie with the old guy playing chess against himself. While it was a cute movie, it didn't make much sense to me.

He was still staring at me. Expectantly now. As in, "what are you still doing here weird person?"

You know, the more I looked at him and the more he stared at me, the more I was starting to have a funny déjà-vu type feeling. He was reminding me of something, but I had no idea what. I shook it off though. Those weird 'déjà vu' feelings came and went all the time, and they were really annoying and usually meaningless anyway.

Kel was still staring at me, probably wondering what to do now that I was here in his garden, and now that I didn't seem to be leaving.

"Teach me to play." I asked looking at the board again. He kept looking at me; his clear brown eyes seeming to look right through me.

"I haven't played a game in a while, and I've never played this one, but I'll learn the rules fast. It's not like I have anything else to do today, and you don't have a partner to play with right now either." I defended myself while not breaking eye contact with him.

He looked at me for another moment, then made a 'Hmph' sounds and looked down at the board.

"The rules are quite simple." he said starting his explanation. I smiled and paid close attention to what he was saying now that he was letting me play.

The rules _were_ simple, and I was able to pick them up easily. Still, as he had been playing this game for who knows how long, he trounced me quite easily in the first two games that we played. In the third game I had more of an idea of what I was doing, and it took him longer to beat me. The fourth game took him even longer to win. In our fifth game, we were paying close attention to our moves as we both struggled to win against each other.

I discovered that I liked this game which wasn't too much like chess for me to not enjoy it. I also discovered that I was good at this game.

I think I'm going to win this time.

* * *

After a long morning of wasting time listening to Mayor Jeither babble and prattle on, Ramses was finally on his way. He had business to take care of in Pharaoh's name and as such, he was traveling on horseback with 10 guards on foot which fitted his station as a powerful Lord and General. Not that he needed 10 guards to take care of him, but it was more for appearances. A man of his high station could hardly be seen traveling around on his own. He had gotten away with it yesterday when he and Kiara had just arrived because no one had noticed him. Now they noticed him, and they were supposed to notice him. Now he was going on his way as the high and powerful lord he was, and anyone watching would notice that instantly.

He was traveling through the housing district near the mayor's palace. It was one of the much more wealthy areas, and the streets were clean and clear. There were no beggars and homeless here sleeping on the streets. No trash or mess to disrupt the happiness of the rich and wealthy. The nobles and merchants wouldn't allow such things near them.

His mind was fixed on his business, and his annoyance for the state of affairs in the area as he rode upon his horse. His guards were silent around him, and the air itself was quiet.

That is, until a familiar voice disrupted all of the silence.

A loud shout had come from behind the wall of a small, but comfortable house just a little ahead of him.

Ramses cursed silently. He knew that voice; it shouted quite often. He was certain, however, that he had told that voice to stay _inside_ the mayor's palace. For some reason he had expected that voice to obey him, but he was obviously mistaken.

Wordlessly, Ramses signaled his guards to halt. Ignoring their confusion since it was only their job to obey him and not question his orders, he quickly dismounted his horse. He approached the place where he had heard the shout from with a slight frown.

He found an opening into a small but neat garden. As he entered the garden, he had the strange feeling that he had been here before, but it wasn't a strong feeling, so he dismissed it for now. He had more important things to do.

_Like __flaying __that __woman__. _He thought with annoyance. He saw Kiara sitting at a small table that held a Senet board on it. He had expected the find her here once he had heard he shouting. He had not expected her to be playing an Egyptian game, and he certainly hadn't expected her opponent to be former Lieutenant Kel.

Now he remembered why the house had seemed familiar to him; it was Kel's house, and he _had_ been here before.

Kiara pouted as she looked at the game in front of her. "You didn't tell me about that move before. That's not fair!" she protested.

Kel shrugged his shoulders. "Life's not fair. You have to learn to live with unpleasant surprises." he said unfeelingly.

Ramses's frown sharpened. He had heard that speech many times before, and it still annoyed him no matter how true it held.

Kiara glanced up and saw him, her eyes getting wider with surprise. Then her face slide into a glare at him. "General, I thought you have business today." she said icily. Ramses decided she was probably upset about the tablet he had given to her that morning. That was good; he had meant for her to be upset by it.

Kel looked up and surveyed his new guest. While his face did not show surprise, it did show recognition. "User, what brings you here?"

Ramses sighed in annoyance. This was another thing he had not wanted to deal with this day. "Just like you to skip pleasantries and get straight to business Kel."

"You two know each other?" Kiara asked looking from one man to the other and noting the tenseness in their postures. Though Kel seemed tense almost naturally, and Ramses was always stone-like anyway.

Kel didn't seem like he was going to answer the question, so for once, Ramses answered her question.

"Kel was a lieutenant in the Egyptian army around the time I first joined. He retired shortly thereafter." Ramses answered coolly and with no emotion. Kiara seemed as if she wanted to say something, but she remained silent possibly because she couldn't believe that he had just honestly answered her question. He usually never told her what she wanted to know.

"If I recall correctly, you usually have a lot of business on your mind as well, User." Kel remarked with a slight frown.

Ramses resisted a sigh. It was always this way with the old man, the years hadn't done much to change him.

"I do have business to get to." Ramses replied coolly. He then turned his eyes to Kiara and stared at her. "I do not have time to bring you back to the mayor's palace, so you'll have to come along." he stated coldly.

Kiara glared back at him, but she surprisingly kept her mouth shut. Knowing that she had been dismissed, she stood up from her chair. Angrily, she picked up a piece off the game board and slammed in into a new position before storming out of the garden. She made sure to stick her tongue out at Ramses on her way. Inwardly, Ramses rolled his eyes at her childishness, but he was grateful that she wasn't being difficult for once, though he did wonder why.

"You are strangely cold with that one. I thought you were usually a charmer." Kel remarked as he stared at the board game.

Ramses disliked talking about Kiara. She was too annoying to have a discussion over; especially with Kel who judged things far too much and on far too biased opinions. "That woman, is hardly worth any charming. She is more deserving of being left in the desert for a few days." he said unfeelingly.

Kel shrugged his shoulders. "Say what you will, but that one is different from all those foolish court simpletons. She has intelligence." then he cursed softly and shook his head. "Isis indeed." he muttered.

Ramses glanced at the Senet board and noticed that Kiara had won the game. It was said that those who played the game of Senet, and won, were looked upon with favor by the gods. Orsis in particular.

Orsis being Isis's husband, and Isis being one of the names put forth for Kiara.

"And here I thought you wouldn't be one to believe in that nonsense. Kiara is a annoyance, not a goddess." Ramses said with a slight scoff.

Kel looked up and fixed him with a strong stare, one that Ramses did not shy away from.

"And here I thought you would be one to know the worth of her. Take my word for it, and don't let that one get away." Kel said gesturing to the wall where Kiara had gone out. Ramses looked at the man before shaking his head and turning to leave.

"I see we disagree as always Kel. My best wishes for you." Ramses said with a small wave as he exited the garden without looking back.

Kel always had strange and unreasonable opinions. The ones he had for Kiara were obviously no different and not worth paying any attention to. In fact they were more ridiculous than normal. Kiara? A woman to try and keep? A woman with sense? _Kiara_? But Kel had only met Kiara that morning and spent perhaps a hour or two in her company. Hardly enough to time to know that she was anything more than an annoying, loud, brat.

Ramses exited the garden and went back out onto the street where his entourage was waiting for him. Kiara was wearing her shall over her hair again as she stood among his guards softly stroking the head of his horse. She watched as Ramses strode back over to them. He stopped right before her and stared down at her coolly.

"I suppose I'm in trouble?" she asked with a lifted eyebrow.

"You are in quite a lot of trouble, and once we get back to the palace I'm going to deal with you severely." Ramses replied coldly.

Kiara opened her mouth, her eyes shinning with anger, but abruptly, she closed her mouth and said nothing. Ramses saw her eyes flicker towards the guards around them before returning back to his face.

It seemed she was smart enough to remember that their little arguments were supposed to remain out of the public eye. He was glad she hadn't thought to challenge him in front of these men because if she had, he would have been very cruel in response. He might allow her foolish trouble making when it was private, since it entertained him, but he wouldn't tolerate her ruining his image in front of these men who would no doubt tell everyone they knew and soon all of Egypt would questioning him.

"So what now?" Kiara asked crossing her arms and looking away.

Ramses sighed. He wanted nothing more than to leave her behind. He actually thought it would be amusing to tie her to a post somewhere and leave her there for a few hours, but he could hardly do that. Nor did he have time to bring her back to the mayor, and he was very reluctant to leave her here with Kel. He didn't think there would be any true harm in it, not in the few hours he would be gone, but he didn't want to have to come back and get her. All of this meant he would have to take her with him. Which would cause far too many questions.

_Damn __woman__._ He cursed inwardly as he mounted the saddle of his horse. With no other choice, he held out a hand to Kiara. She took his hand and wordlessly let him pull her up into the saddle in front of him. The horse shifted under the weight of the two people, but it followed its training and began walking forward upon command.

After a few moments, Kiara shifted so that she was looking back at him. "What's up between you and Kel?" she asked.

Ramses stared down at her without emotion and without any indication of answering her question. She frowned slightly at being unanswered but pressed on anyway.

"Did you two not like each other? Was there a fight? Was it pride? Was it a girl?"

"You talk too much, and you come up with the strangest ideas." Ramses said to end her line of questions. She ignored that.

"Well something had to have happened. Two people aren't that tense around each other for no apparent reason. Something had to have happened between them." Kiara went on not caring that Ramses was glaring coolly at her from the corners of his eyes. "I don't guess it was his fault either. You're the one who is such an ass, so I figure you probably did it. Whatever was done." Kiara said decisively.

Ramses said nothing determined not to let her goad him into talking. She was keeping her voice quiet enough for once that this one-sided conversation wouldn't be heard by guards who were no doubt already curious enough about what was going on.

Kiara huffed annoyed. "Fine, don't tell me anything. I'll just have to figure it out myself. I'm sure there are dozens of people I can pester until they tell me. And don't think I won't! I _will_! And you can't stop me cause you'll be busy with your 'business'." as Kiara said the last word she held up her index fingers on each hand and bent them up and down.

"What is that?" he said raising an eyebrow as he watched her move her fingers.

She rolled his eyes, but there was a slight flush on her cheeks. "Right, cavemen don't use air-quotes. Well excuse me for using modern gestures to be a brat." she muttered looking away.

Ramses chuckled softly. She was so childishly amusing sometimes; but only sometimes.

"Since you admitting to being the brat you are, I'll tell you that Kel and I did not have a fight, we merely have opposing views, and it makes it difficult for us to have a conversation without pointing the flaws in each other's reasoning."

Kiara looked at him surprised. "You mean all I had to do to get you to talk was say that I'm a brat?" she snorted and rolled her eyes again. "Well geez, if I had known that I would've said it 30 times already."

"That would have proved the point, but it would become tiring. You should try something else instead." Ramses said with a slight smirk.

Kiara scowled then looked back up at him. "You're so mean. I don't understand why you have to act that way. Must be because your a rich pompous ass."

Now Ramses scowled. "I am hardly interested in your foolish opinions about my character. Your own character leaves much to be desired; perhaps you should focus on that."

Kiara blinked a few times. "My opinion? Hey wait! Is that what gets you and Kel all fighty? His opinion on you being a rich ass? Cause its true you know. You shouldn't take so much offense to it and just face facts."

Ramses clenched his teeth, but kept his face clear. "Kel's problem is not with myself but with the aristocracy as a whole. Do not seek to always put the blame entirely on my shoulders you viper."

Kiara snorted and rolled her eyes. "You and your pride. But that's what bothers him right? All that pride, and 'high and mighty' nonsense that you nobles take with the 'little people'?" she said wiggling her fingers in 'air quotes' again. "You do realize that everything you have comes from the hard work of the people beneath you? They work for everything they have; you just got born with it all." she told him accusingly.

Ramses greatly disliked the way she was lecturing him. She spoke as if she thought she were superior, and he were an idiot. "I am very well aware of the way things work in this country, but need I remind you that you have never lived here and have only been here for a few days. Do not presume to tell me of things you have no knowledge about." he told her coldly.

Kiara glared at him and opened her mouth to protest, but they were getting close to their destination, and he no longer wished to argue with her.

"Kel has his own opinions, and he is entitled to them. His views are highly unrealistic however, and he is naive to believe in them. Without the nobility there would be no Egypt. No matter how loudly he proclaims his views, they will prove fruitless and ridiculous."

"So he doesn't want nobles at all? Even if they are causing all the problems, having no government and no rulers, would cause anarchy and mass confusion." Kiara seemed a little surprised. Ramses looked down at her. Her anger had disappeared, and she seemed to be thinking. Her face was really very clear; he could easily see the emotions playing out across it.

"I see you have some sense. A structure is needed to retain a country, and Egypt's government is a sound one." _Or __at __least __it __would __be __if __it __had __proper __leaders __in __charge __of __it__. _He thought inwardly.

"A government, or even a country is only as good as it civil leaders. If they don't do their jobs right then they aren't worth a damn." Kiara snorted with a sideways glare at him. As if she doubted his own ability to do his job.

He loathed that. He hated the way she implied that he couldn't do his duties as a lord well. He knew that was far from being true. He was very good at his job. He knew of his people's needs, and he took care of them. They were neither over worked, nor underfed, and they were all properly cared for. He was a good and well respected lord, and he had earned that respect. That fact that Kiara was suggesting that he was nothing more than his money was beyond irritating. She had no idea of what she was talking about, and it angered him.

"That may be true, but who is to judge their worth? A little girl like you perhaps? You know nothing of this world, so I suggest you say nothing more." he kept his voice cool and even, but Kiara could see the anger glimmering in his eyes. She knew that she had needled him a little too much for now, and he was right; she didn't know much anything about Egypt, so she shouldn't be saying anything. She had no right to. And so she kept quiet for the rest of the ride.

* * *

The rest of the ride was short though, and soon I found more things to talk about as we came up to the big house that were had apparently been heading too.

It was a big wealthy palace of course. With servants running around to take care of whatever jobs they had. I decided that whoever lived here must be pretty loaded since even his servants looked well-to-do. I had already picked up on the fact that if the servants looked rich, then the masters were freakin wealthy. It was all an appearance and pride thing. The Egyptians were obsessed with all that, it seemed.

_Where __is __it __any __different __though__? _I wondered with a sigh. Back in Tennessee maybe it wasn't quite so bad but...but that kind of stuff was everywhere. Half of the time I didn't even think about it anymore since I was surrounded by it, but right now it irked me to see all these rich snobs in their posh houses with their caveman ideas and no concern for the well being of the 'little people'.

So anyway, not to ramble on and on about the need for a revolution in morals and social ideas, we entered the large courtyard and a bunch of servants rushed forward to help with the horse and to see to whatever needs General might have.

General waited until a servant took the reigns of our horse before he dismounted. Then he reached up and helped me dismount.

Again, just like when he had helped me mount the horse yesterday, I noticed how strong he was, and how easy it was for him to lift me up and put me somewhere.

And _no_ I'm _not_ calling myself fat when I say all that. I'm _not_ fat! I'm a very nice, solid size five which is entirely average. And whatever weight I have is all muscle. From the dancing and everything I do. I'm _not _fat.

To my credit I didn't blush this time when General lifted me up and put me down. I did notice that the guards and many servants looked at me strangely though. They probably were wondering about this little girl that their general had had on his horse with him.

Well that irritated me.

It also really irritated me when a taller, very skinny guy came out and bowed low to general. The guy must have been a servant, but probably the head of the house hold or something cause he had a fancy yet plain gold color around his neck. What I didn't like about him was his way of looking right down his nose.

He greeted General with an oily, overly elaborate, welcoming speech that was perfectly designed to stroke the ego of anyone who was addressed by it. I was unimpressed however. I was servilely unimpressed when Snobby Servant's eyes slid right over me without more than a second spent on me. Like I was air, or a piece of dirt just standing there.

Someone was feeling pretty full of himself for a servant.

Anyway I wasn't paying much attention except to notice that General said something in his bored, 'I'm too good to care' voice, and the servant after much bowing and gushing lead the way into the palace and off somewhere.

I don't really know if I was invited or not. I naturally followed General, but maybe I was supposed to have waited in the courtyard. Whatever, I went along. I probably should have been paying more attention, but my mind was focused on the conversation General and I had been having on the way over here.

I wondered about Kel. I wondered about General and the tenseness between them. I wondered about the very hateful fire I had seen in General's eyes during our conversation. Something about it was a very sore topic with him. I'm pretty sure it was the part where I told him I figured he was just another rich brat who didn't give a crap about people.

_No__, __he __hadn__'__t __liked __that __at __all__. __Does __that __mean __I __was __really __wrong__? __Everyone __respects __him__; __hell__, __they __practically __treat __him __like __he __was __king half the time__. __He__'__s __a __good __general __I__'__ve __heard__, __which __means __he __must __be __somewhat __good __with __people__. __You __can__'__t __be __good __at __a __leading __job __unless __you __can __lead __well__, __and __you __can__'__t __lead __well __without __knowing __and __understanding __those __you __lead__. __And __if __you __know __and __understand __someone__, __usually __that __means __you __care __about __them__. __He __was __so __offended __by __the __idea __that __he __was __just __another __noble __jerk__; __does __that __mean __he__'__s __not __just __a __rich __ass__?_

I already knew that. I had figured that out back on the boat; sort of. But I resisted the idea. Why was that?

_Cause __I __can__'__t __stand __the __guy__! __How __can __anyone __act __the __way __he __can__? __He__'__s __unbearable__!_

It's really very hard to have a unbiased opinion about someone you hate. Its even harder to have a good opinion about them. Because that's just how people's emotions are. Its human.

_I__'__m __still __not __convinced __he__'__s __human __though__; __rotten __devil__. _I thought crossly as I followed the man down a long hallway.

General glanced back at me, and his eyes tightened a little. Did he just notice that I was following him? No I had seen him look back at me before. He had known I was here. He was suddenly irritated at me for some reason though. But I hadn't done anything yet! In fact, I had been tame towards him all day! Even after that damn tablet he had given me! I _deserved_ payback! I would be sure to deliver it once we were back at the palace and done with all of this business.

Speaking of which...

"What are we doing here anyway? You never told me what business you had around here." I asked General in a whisper so that the Snobby Servant wouldn't overhear. I noticed that General had just been about to open his mouth to tell me something. His eyes flashed with annoyance that I had spoken first.

"Be quiet and do not cause any trouble. I am already burdened with your presence, so do not make things even worse with your loud drivel."

My mouth dropped open in shock. "Aren't we being a rude ass today!" I hissed as quietly as I could while still letting him hear me. He raised an eyebrow at me and kept his cold glare fixed on me.

I gritted my teeth angrily, but knew better than to cause more problems for now. Not in public; not when Lord General Ramses might very well let me be whipped for insolence or something.

Would that actually happen? I don't know. As he had already pointed out this wasn't my country, so I wasn't for sure on what they did around here. But I knew better than to challenge or wound a prideful person's ego in public. They became vicious and evil when that happened, and I didn't want to deal with that drama right now.

I'd just stick to the little showdowns we had when no one else was around to see who won or lost.

"Yeah yeah yeah. I'll be good and quiet and stay out of the way. After all, who would dare offend 'the great General Ramses'?" I asked, my quietened words dripping with sarcasm. His glare became even more fiery for a moment before he turned away from me.

We were now in front of these big fancy double doors. 'Mr Snobby with a Fancy Collar' stepped forward and drew open the doors. He called out in a booming voice: "My Lord General User Ramses.", then he stepped aside to let us into the room.

_Oh __so __they __don__'__t __announce __the __little __women __then__. __Just __the __lordy __generals__._ I thought sourly as we stepped forward into the room, me practically in General's shadow.

The room was filled with a lot of light. The window slots at the top of the walls that were designed to let in light and fresh air were angled so that the room was flooded with light from the sun at this time of day. The brightness of the room made it hard to see, and it took my eyes a few moments to adjust to the point where I could see anything at all.

When I could see clearly, the first thing I saw was something that was wrong.

A man, an older wealthy man judging by all of his jewelry, was lying on the floor. Surrounding him was a lot of dark red liquid. A lot of dark red liquid that had a salty copper scent.

_Blood__._

He was dead.

* * *

**The author's note is down here now because it's a big note and I don't want it to get in the way of reading this long awaited chapter. Seriously, what reason did I have to take like, 9 months to update again? Well, I kinda had a reason though not a great one. As I said I got busy for a while, and all that but mostly I just got stuck. Its at that pivitol point now, where we either sink or swim in this story and I was trying hard to get everything taken care of enough so that we swim not sink. The big thing was that the next few chapters are all very important and tied in together so I needed to have a very clear idea of what's next before I started posting cause I didn't want to mess up and have to go back and change something. I already did change the next few chapters a lot of times so it was good that I held off a while to give myself an idea of what next. My biggest problem though is the end. Its very bad of me that I don't have the ending ironed out for this story yet. I'm stuck between what I really want, what I think will probably work best, and something that fits very well but won't make me happy. But not knowing how the story ends kinda makes it difficult to write it out now, you would think that it wouldn't, but I HATE when the ending comes out of no where and has practically no connection to anything else. It's one thing to blindside and have a surprise ending, it's another thing entirely to just throw something there that doesn't fit the characters and the story. So whatever ending I pick has to fit Kiara and how everything else is going. At least in my way of writing. There will be some character growth and all, but I like knowing what comes next so I can plan for it yet I find planning an end for Kiara is difficult cause she's such a pain XD**  
**Anyway very very very very sorry for the long wait, I do have a clear idea for the immediate upcoming chapters so that shouldn't be another half a year coming, but it won't be weekly for a while either. Ramses is an even bigger pain that Kiara and he's not being easy to work with right now, the meanie that he is. In fact I'm not very happy with the way this chapter is, but I'm so annoyed with it at the same time that I'm not going to bother with it anymore. What a wonderful writer I am **rolls eyes at self****

**But I'll have another update soon, within the next month I promise but I can't give it better than that.**

**ABOUT THE SENET GAME! I'm not anthropologist, I'm hardly a history expert either, in fact I fairly well suck at it, but I needed a game for this chapter so I looked up ancient Egyptian games and I found Senet, and it was perfect! It fit right into what I was looking for being an ancient board game and having so ties to the 'gods' particularly Orisis and through him Isis, who is someone I've mentioned in pervious chapters ;) Y'all should pay more attention to that. Not saying she's Isis, I might have a cat pop up later to make her Bast but still pay attention to my clever hints XD And if anyone wants to know about SENET there's a page for it on Wikipedia.**

**Please review and tell me you don't hate me too much, though you all do have the right to be annoyed since I was a ditz and took so long. -_- Sorry!**

**Also I'm taking down the author's notice I put up because now it's in the way. :)**

**COOKIES TO PEOPLE WHO READ ALL THAT! XD**


	48. Blood

**So only a month from my last chapter update, not bad. And I see I've still got some readers, thank y'all for not abandoning me even after I took forever. :) Enjoy the chapter and if you see any typos or spelling type mistakes let me know so I can fix them.**

* * *

**48: Blood**

_My mouth dropped open in shock. "Aren't we being a rude ass today!" I hissed as quietly as I could while still letting him hear me. He raised an eyebrow at me and kept his cold glare fixed on me._

_I gritted my teeth angrily, but knew better than to cause more problems for now. Not in public; not when Lord General Ramses might very well let me be whipped for insolence or something._

_Would that actually happen? I don't know. As he had already pointed out this wasn't my country, so I wasn't for sure on what they did around here. But I knew better than to challenge or wound a prideful person's ego in public. They became vicious and evil when that happened, and I didn't want to deal with that drama right now._

_I'd just stick to the little showdowns we had when no one else was around to see who won or lost._

_"Yeah yeah yeah. I'll be good and quiet and stay out of the way. After all, who would dare offend 'the great General Ramses'?" I asked, my quietened words dripping with sarcasm. His glare became even more fiery for a moment before he turned away from me._

_We were now in front of these big fancy double doors. 'Mr Snobby with a Fancy Collar' stepped forward and drew open the doors. He called out in a booming voice: "My Lord General User Ramses.", then he stepped aside to let us into the room._

Oh so they don't announce the little women then. Just the lordy generals. _I thought sourly as we stepped forward into the room, me practically in General's shadow._

_The room was filled with a lot of light. The window slots at the top of the walls that were designed to let in light and fresh air were angled so that the room was flooded with light from the sun at this time of day. The brightness of the room made it hard to see, and it took my eyes a few moments to adjust to the point where I could see anything at all._

_When I could see clearly, the first thing I saw was something that was wrong._

_A man, an older wealthy man judging by all of his jewelry, was lying on the floor. Surrounding him was a lot of dark red liquid._

Blood.

_He was dead._

* * *

For a shocked second, no one moved. The man was dead, and I was too shocked to do anything.

Suddenly, all in about 2 seconds, my brain went haywire. Electric shocks pumped through my skin and into my head.

Panic. Panic was like a thick heavy feeling pressing in on me and pushing me around. Panic was something that took over my brain and shoved me around like I was nothing.

I whirled around and saw the snobby servant staring into the room with horror.

Not thinking, and still feeling the little shock impulses in my skin and brain, still being overruled by a cold panic, leaped forward and grabbed the servant by his fancy collar. I jerked him into the room then grabbed a hold of both of the large doors and slammed them shut making a loud _bang_!

My breathing was harsh, and my legs were shaking, so I turned and leaned back against the door for support.

My legs felt weak, like they could barely hold me up, and I was shivering. Was I cold? I couldn't tell.

I glanced up and saw General looking at me before he turned away to look at the body again. His face was absolutely made of stone.

Did he think I was pale? Was I pale? I didn't have a mirror to check with. I _felt_ pale. Is it possible to have a 'pale feeling'?

_If it is then I'm having it. _I decided looking down at the body again. I shivered again.

It didn't make much sense to me why I was panicking now, here, when I hadn't in all my previous life and death situations-which had become much more frequent now that I'm conviently thousands of years away from a police station.

But this, this walking into a room in the middle of the day and finding a body—a body that was once a person—just lying there on the floor, it was so terrible.

There hadn't been a battle. There hadn't been a war or rebellion for this man to be a victiom of. This man hadn't died fighting for country, home, or king. He had just died. Someone had killed him, and then left him to die and remain alone on a cold floor in the middle of the room. It seemed so much more cruel and inhuman that way. So much more terrible and brutal.

It was just so wrong.

There was no battle, no build up. No adrenline pumping through my viens making me move more with instinct to save myself. There was no danger to threaten me and force me to act with the stength and level-headedness needed to take control of a situation and turn it my way. Just the cold sudden shock of an evil reality that snuck up and surprised me with its brutalness.

I had been taught to act with selfpreservation, but I was never taught how to deal with something like this.

It slowly filtered into my mind that the servant was blubbering and whimpering and sobbing like a little girl. The big baby.

General was neither pale nor whimpering. He was carefully walking around the body lost in his own thoughts as he inspected the body.

_Who's the victim? _A thought in the back of my mind shifted forward. Or maybe it was more like a memory. It was after all, question #1 on all the crime shows. Who's the dead person?

"What's going on?" I asked. My voice came out in just a little whisper. I was surprised at how low and weak it was. But I was also surprised I had managed to say anything at all. This was seriously freaking me out in a weird uncharacteristic like way. I mean, being scared practically silent? That's not me in the least.

I am _never_ silent. Probably not even in my sleep, but I have no idea how to tell about that.

General glanced up at me, but his face was still so very unreadable. He looked away after a second probably thinking he didn't have time to deal with the wimp I had become. Really, where was the brave, smart-aleck, talker, full of attitude, girl I usually was? Was she on vacation or something? What did she leave in her place? Some wishy-washy timid little mouse person? That wasn't going to work.

_Get off your butt, and get your head together! Being a baby costs lives, so learn to grow up fast, and get over it!_ My dad's voice kicked in giving me a boost to try and get me back to myself. He had never said something exactly like that to me he was never so harsh even if he was demanding, but if he saw the way I was acting now I knew he'd be irritated and disapointed in it.

I was better than this. At least I _should_ be. I'm not a baby. I can handle life's crap.

When life gives you lemons, throw them back at life, and at the people who make life suck.

_Like murders and arrogant, annoying, high and mighty generals._

_And maybe even blubbering whinny crybabies who like to act superior when they're really just full of hot air._ I glanced at the snobby servant with a look of annoyance.

_Oh yes, how hypocritical of me. I can barely function at the moment, yet I'm going on about the idiot over there._

_Well yes, that's because I don't like him. I am often hypocritical about people I don't like. Everyone is. Fact of life. Double standards and all that jazz._

_Hmm...all that jazz. A song from the wonderful movie "Chicago". One of the best-est movies. And I totally look like Velma Kelly when I wear a black bob wig. But not Roxie. My cheekbones aren't high enough to be Roxie. Too bad really cause she has some awesome songs. But so does Velma. After all she sings "All That Jazz" and "I Can't Do It Alone". But then Roxie sings "Roxie." Which is awesome._

"_And who in case she doesn't hang, can say she started with a bang? Roxie, Hart." That's an awesome verse._

_Hmm. Bang._

_The dead guy on the floor wasn't killed with a bang. He was stabbed to death judging by the blood pool, lack of beating marks and the non-existence of guns yet._

_Well except for mine, but that doesn't count._

In case you were wondering, yes my mind is just running randomly. Is that like, a defense thing? Whatever it is I really needed to get out of it and concentrate on not being pathetic for a while.

"So um," my voice was strangely deep and throaty now, so I coughed to clear it. "Who's the dead person?" I asked in a more normal tone.

"My lord! Someone has killed my lord Yeireth!" the snobby servant managed to say coherently.

_This is the lord? The guy General was coming to visit? Well, he certainly doesn't welcome his guests very well._

I could slap myself for my weak and stupid sense of humor. This wasn't funny at all.

"He's a lord? Someone killed a noble?" I asked weakly. Not that I really made a difference in my mind whether the guy had money or not; he was still a murder victim regardless of his state of birth, but in this era killing a noble was way worse than knocking off some servant or common person. That wasn't how it should be, but that's how it was here.

"What will become of the estate? What will we do! He had no heirs!"

Of course that was what the servant guy thought of first; what would happen to him and his cushy life now?

People are really very predictable. Especially greedy ones. Like this servant guy—who was bawling like a baby. Now that his master was dead, his first thought was not one of grief, it was for himself.

_Although, maybe the lord wasn't worth crying over._ I shook my head slightly. It didn't make a cold blooded murder any better even if the victim was a jerk.

I glanced at General. He still hadn't said a word. What was he thinking?

I still didn't even know what his business here was. Not his business in this town, nor with this guy who was now dead. Did the murder have any connection to it maybe?

Was General maybe sent here because of the murder? Maybe he had information that it was going to happen, and he was sent to stop it? That didn't make any sense though. He would have tried to get here faster if he knew something like this was going to happen.

Wouldn't he?

I shook my head. Now was no time to be thinking that General might not be completely trust worthy. And it was my paranoia talking really. General, was an ass, but he seemed to be an 'OK' person otherwise.

_As in, otherwise for his pigheadedness, arrogance, and playboy womanizer, attitude. Other than that he seems to be an OK person._

But what was going to happen now? General quite obviously couldn't continue his business with the lord since the guy was, well, beyond reach. So what was he going to do now? So far he had done nothing but be silent. Why wasn't he saying anything? Doing anything?

I think I was getting a more paranoid. I was certainly jumpy. Which is why I wasn't really paying attention when the servant suddenly started blubbering to General. Nor was I paying enough attention to hear what the two said to each other. In fact, I didn't snap out of it until General suddenly grabbed me by the arm and started dragging me away.

"Hey! What are you doing!" I shouted annoyed and angry for many reasons. I was freaked enough about this murder thing, and the paranoia that was suddenly showing up, I didn't need him man-handling me.

"Be quiet." it was all he said. But for once, I actually listened to that order. There was something in his very, _very_ icy cool tone, and the tenseness in his whole frame that made me actually stop and listen this one time. Something had him really bothered, and it was quite obvious what that thing was.

_So this whole little thing bothers him too. He's not just a complete brick wall. _I thought to myself. Somehow it made me feel slightly relieved. If even the 'mighty' General was upset and everything, then that made me feel less pathetic for the way I had reacted to it myself.

Yeah yeah, I know. Here I go acting like that servant by thinking about myself instead of feeling even worse for the poor dead guy. Hypocrite. Bad me.

I wasn't paying attention again, absorbed in my own little head while General pulled me from the room with a body, and brought me to a smaller room across the hallway. It was like a little sitting room- probably for people to wait in—and he pushed me inside it.

"Wait here, and do not cause any trouble." General stared me directly in the eye, saying every word clearly and firmly. I had every idea that if I were to go against him this time, he would be severely pissed, and it wouldn't be anything like our little power game with each other.

When he left the room, closing the door behind himself and leaving me there alone, I didn't say anything. I didn't do anything but sit quietly. I didn't cause any trouble. I didn't feel like causing trouble or going against General just for spite like I normally would.

In fact, I tried not to feel much of anything.

It was probably a few hours later when he came back to get me. A few servants had come in to see if I needed anything or whatever, but I managed to get rid of them all. I didn't want to have to deal with any of that at the moment. I was completely and utterly, confused, and obviously a little scared, and I was honestly just hoping someone would come and tell me what the hell was going on. That way I could stop being confused and also not be paranoid and nervous.

But, naturally, when General finally showed up, he didn't tell me anything.

Without a word—and with me trying to ask questions, but then being quiet when he shot me an evil glare—we left the room and then left the whole palace.

I was really really uncomfortable as we got onto General's horse and headed back to the mayor's palace.

I didn't know anything about what was going to happen, and General was seemingly just as tense as I was. It was really a bad atmosphere. And I was right in the middle of it without knowing anything about the situation. I could tell the guards who were with us were tense too. I didn't know if they knew about the murder, I didn't know if the guy's own family knew he was dead, but I was guessing that everyone could sense the bad attitude General was in even if they didn't know what had caused it.

The ride back to the mayor's palace was quicker, General obviously wanting to get there and take care of whatever he had to do. During our fast paced ride I wasn't looking around and enjoying the view like I probably would have normally. I couldn't seem to keep my mind from what had happened. It was a big thing so it quite naturally jumped to the front of my mind. Like an ugly picture in your mind that you want to forget, but the harder you try not to, the more you see it. Or like a bad taste in the back of your mouth that you can't seem to wash out no matter how much you drink.

That picture I couldn't forget was the one of that poor guy on the floor, all dead and bled out. It was a bad picture, and I really wanted it to not be there in my head, but it was probably something I wasn't ever going to forget.

Great.

I finally managed to snap out of my head once I realized that we were back at the mayor's palace, and General was dismounting the horse. He helped me down then immediately grabbed me by my arm, and started pulling me into the palace. His face was cool and closed off, but I could tell from the direction we were going in that he was leading me back to my room.

Probably to close me off inside it, so he didn't have to deal with me for now.

That didn't suit me very well. As far as I was concerned, going back to my big empty room to sit around on my own was a very bad thing right now. Not only would I wallow around in paranoia and worry, but I didn't know _anything_. I couldn't just sit by without knowing what was happening. I really couldn't. Not something like this. I had to know, he had to tell me, and then I had to find something to do before I tore the room up.

Yes, Parania and I are very good friends. We have decided to cling together and not see anything rationally ever again.

"Hey! What's going on!" I asked trying to be quiet and demanding at the same time. I was pretty sure that murder was quite obviously not the type of news that you could keep everyone from hearing about for long, but it seemed like a good idea to try for now.

"Why is there a dead guy? What were you meeting him for? Who would want to kill him and what for?" I asked. I was panting slightly from asking so many questions so fast while being dragged along by my arm by General.

Seriously, he's more than a foot taller than me; couldn't he walk a little slower? I really wasn't able to keep up with his longer stride very well, especially not since he was _dragging_ me.

Not very nicely I might add.

"Gods but you never stop talking." he answered in almost a growl speaking for the first time since he had thrown me into the little room back at the other palace.

_Well jeez. I get that you're stressed, and maybe I'm a little irritating, but no need to growl at people dude._

"Well if you'd stop dragging me around, and just talk to me then I wouldn't need to keep questioning you like a district attorney." I snapped huffily. Of course he would have no idea what a district attorney was, but that wasn't my problem, it was his. _My_ problem was that he was dragging me like a dog on a leash not answering my questions and there was a murderer out there somewhere. My paranoia was quickly getting bigger and bigger, and all the servants we were passing in the halls seemed more and more suspicious and evil-ish. Without any answers to my questions, and with a mind that has a big imagination quite capable of coming up with a lot more unpleasant situations, I wasn't going to be able to sit quietly in my room all alone where some evil super-villan could come out and strangle me, or poke holes in _me_ with a bloody knife.

"You don't need to question anyone. You just need to be silent, and do as you're told." General said grinding his teeth slightly. Well someone was really tense right now. Understandable of course.

We had come back to my room by this time, and he opened the door pushing me inside. He was going to try and shut the door and leave me in here I could tell, but I wasn't just going to let him do that. Like hell would I be the poor damsel who sat in her room waiting for either death or a shinning Knight while a mass murderer ran rampant through the streets with an evil army or giant ugly jars and gleaming kicthen hathcets.

Hello Imagiantion. Come to join me and Paranioa? How sweet of you.

"What I need is for you to explain this to me so I understand! If you would just tell me then I wouldn't have to keep bothering you, and I could avoid causing more trouble because, I can guarantee that if you don't tell me I'm going to try and find out on my own, and you can't stop me, and-"

"Fine!" he hissed shoving me into the room and stepping in with me. He shut the door and glared down at me while I tried to get my head around the fact that he had actually just agreed. I really had expected him to walk off or something.

"The man we saw today, was a very wealthy merchant with ties and influence throughout Egypt. Some of his dealings with certain people however have come under suspicion of late. Pharaoh sent me to make sure there was nothing happening, but obviously we just found out otherwise."

I was silent for a moment processing this. "You think he was going to commit some act of treason, and now whoever he was working with has probably killed him to keep him quiet?" I asked finally in a calm quiet voice.

General looked at me for a moment before nodding slightly. It was more like a jerk of the head actually.

"So who is the other guy? The potential-traitor, now murderer?" I asked. General gave me another look before turning and opening the door obviously not going to answer me.

"What I've told you already, is nothing more than what has been gossiped about for weeks. And the only reason I have told you is so that you will stay here and behave, if you are capable though I don't believe you are." General said somewhat icily. I bristled a little then relaxed knowing he was probably right and there were more important things to think about than our continued sparring match with each other.

"Where are you going?" I asked as General walked out the door.

"I have business to attend to." He said without even looking back at me as he shut the door.

I stood there for a minute starring at the door in silence. Then slowly, I turned and walked to the bed before sitting on it in silence beforing laying down and starring up at the ceiling.

Well. Today had been busy. And a disaster.

I thought about what General had said. At first I had been surprised that he'd even told me, but then it didn't make much difference did it? Stuff like that was gossiped about all the time. His telling it to me wouldn't make any difference because, whether people believed it or not, they had already heard it being passed around in common talk. The man had been very wealthy, and powerful even, when just about everyone else was suffereing from a bad ecomeny. Obviously, people are going to be suspisous or jealous and start rumors about it. Sometimes they might be true other times they might not.

But this murder proves that they must be true. The guy, Yeireth?, was dead. Killed just as a powerful envoy of Pharaoh's came around. Obviously, Yeireth knew something that Pharaoh wasn't supposed to find out about so someone killed him.

His partner.

Who was his partner? And did he commit the murder himself, or did he give the order and watch from the sidelines?

Trying to guess one person randomly would do no good. You had to think through it logically.

Whoever this was must have been powerful. And he'd have to have something to gain by going against Pharaoh.

_Everyone says Horemheb is weak and unfit for rule. He has no children, and his country is in shambles while he barely holds onto the title of Pharaoh. It wouldn't take a genuis to try and take the thrown from him. Not that that person would be able to hold onto Egypt any better. The way things are now, you can't just take the throne, if you get it you have to be able to hold it, and hold it hard, or else it'll just keep falling apart._

So, the probable outcome of this little game would have been the throne. Either in actually taking it or taking enough of Horemheb's power that his having the title wouldn't matter much anymore. Not that it does now. That had to be the only reason General was sent here. If it didn't have the potential to overthrow him, I doubt Horemheb would have bothered to do anything about it anyway.

So who would have the power, the knowledge, and the money to do try and go in for a overthrow? He must have also been giving some of that money to Yeireth which was why the guy was wealthy and powefrul even when the common people didn't have the money to buy things from him anymore.

So who would have lots of money right now? Obviously not someone who needed to get it from the inhabitants of the town.

Or who needed to get it without force.

I sat up and looked around.

Mayors get money by taxing the people. Mayors have money, power, and influence and a certain amount of knowledge about how things go on in courts.

Was that why we were staying here really? Was it the _Mayor_?

Now wouldn't that be ironic? But it would make some sense. He was so eager to flatter General who he knows is here on Pharaoh's behalf. And he's even throwing this big party tonight to get on General's good side.

The _party_! People would be drinking and having a good time. They would be relaxed and unsuspecting. It was the perfect time to do some digging and find out what was going on.

But how?

Obviously I needed to...

I got up and paced around a bit. If the mayor was on on this, he might have some kind of evidance linking him to it in his room. Letters or something maybe?

_No no, this isn't like the TV shows. There isn't evidance. And People wouldn't write something like this down, it'll all be in his head._

So he'd have to tell it to me himself. How did I manage to get him to do that? Even a stupid person knew better than to up and confess to treason when the guy you wanted to commit treason against would be just as happy to throw you to the crocodiles and take all your money.

_But he'll be drunk. Maybe he'll be a talkative drunk. But if I wanted to get him into a drunk stupor, I'd have to do it when it was me and him alone._

Cause General certainly won't help me.

I stopped for a minute thinking about that side of things for the first time.

This was dumb of me. Trying to act like Anngelina Jolie or someone and go undercover to catch the bad guy. A bad guy who had already had someone killed. I really shouldn't even think about doing this.

_It's only a problem if I get caught._

_And why won't I get caught? Really this seems like something where the only outcome will be my getting caught._

_But if I'm alone with him for a seemingly innocent reason, no one else will suspect anything, and he'll be too drunk to notice._

_And what if he's not that type of drunk? What if he's the type of drunk who remembers everything that happens and keeps his head while being drunk?_

_That can't be possible. He'll be drunk and out of his head._

_Then what's the point in talking to him?_

I kept pacing. There might not be a point, but if I could get rid of all the risks, then there wouldn't be a reason not to try. I mean you never know right?

I bit my lip.

Why be alone with the guy?

_That one is obvious. I'm a girl. He's a guy. That type of thing is perfectly normal here._

I scowled thinking of that. But he would be too drunk to really do anything. Of course sometimes being drunk made people freakishly strong and determined...

_Cold pills. Cold pills knock everyone out. I'll slip him some after I'm done talking to him, and then he really can't do anything. So I'll just have to make sure and get the information quick, and then give him the pills before he gets to impatient._

_This is all assuming he takes notice of me anyway. How do I know he won't choose some busty blond instead of me?_

_I can be blond._

_But what difference will that make?_

_I'll just have to make him notice me. It won't be hard._

I mused through it all.

The mayor needed to be checked out, and tonight was the perfect night to do it. I had cold pills in my bag, and I could use those and lots of wine to keep the guy distracted and easy to manage. If I dyed my hair blond then most people won't recognize me, and I won't have to deal with fallout from tonight, and everyone will just think I'm another common blond whore.

I bit my lip. As far as I could tell it seemed like an ok plan, and now that I had thought of it, I would hate myself for not acting on it.

_And General? What if he finds out?_

_Why would he? I'll be blond, and he hardly pays attention to me unless he's trying to annoying the crap out of me, so how would he find out?_

But I knew better than to underestimate him. He was like a really big thorn in my side, always annoying me just when I thought I had him gone. He could find out, and get very pissed off at me.

_Oh who cares about him? He's just an annoying jerk who hates me about as much as I hate him. What do I care if he gets mad at me? He's not the boss of me. Not _really_ anyway. Besides, I'm going back to the 21st century just as soon as I possibly can, so I don't really need to worry about General or any of this at all! I'm doing the guy a favor by helping him out. He should thank me._

Filled with determination that can from anger and rebellion against General made me marched to my bag and start to pull one item after the other out of it's depths, glad that I was such a horder who kept thousands of potentially useless stuff in my bag.

There was the temporary hair dye that would last until I washed it out. There were the sleeping pills that always worked on me within 10 minutes after swallowing them. There was the makeup I could use to make myself more noticable. And a special treat, some color contacts that I had kept after using them for a magazine shoot. They were an exotic purple color and made my eyes look like bright violets. With those and the hair dye no one would recognize me for the brunett blue-eyed girl I was now.

With a smile I quickly began my preparations for what was undoubtedly the stupidest thing I had ever done in my life.

* * *

**A/N: Ah Kiara, doing stupid things again. Will she ever learn? Probably not for a while XD I'll have the next chapter up soon so y'all can shake your heads at whatever it is that she does next ;)**


	49. Dancer

**It's been only about a week since my last update, but I'm feeling good today and I've got things planned out a bit if not actually completely written up so I don't mind giving y'all this chapter which you're waiting for :) Thanks for the nice reviews and please don't stop telling me what you think. :)**

* * *

**49: Dancer**

I made it outside and into the courtyard with no problem. I got a few stares but they were the nice kind of stares that mean someone is noticing how good you look.

Cause I looked _good_.

_Why don't I dress like this all the time back home anyway? Everyone dyes their hair blond and dresses up all the time. It has good benefits._

_Yeah, but _everyone_ dyes their hair blond and dresses up. Its a very annoying trend, and so are most of the people following it. _I carried on my silly little self-conversation as I looked around the courtyard.

There were still lots of people running all around doing their jobs. I saw lots of people going in and out of the kitchen, but I knew I didn't want to be there. First of all, it was me. And me and kitchens don't mix well. Secondly, if I went into the kitchen I'd probably end up stuck there. I couldn't be stuck there, I had to be able to move around and be seen.

Towards the back corner of the garden the solution to my problem sat. There were a couple of people standing together, and they seemed to be arguing. I saw a few instruments on the ground besides them as well.

What I didn't see, was someone to dance to the music of those instruments.

_I guess that would be where I come in._

I walked over the the group of arguing performers slowly, making sure to keep a slightly curious, but mostly playful half-smile on my face. As I got closer to them, I could hear what they were arguing about:

"I do not care if she is ill! We need a performer for tonight, and she has promised to be here!" a big man who was obviously in-charge said angrily.

"She can barely move! How is she supposed to preform in that state?" another man argued. This one was tall, thin, and tan, but his fingers were heavily calloused giving the impression that he spent many hours sitting in the sun playing a string instrument.

"That does not concern me! What does concern me, is the dinner the mayor is holding tonight, and the entertainment I was tasked to supply! That woman told me she was going to preform tonight, and dammit she will!" the big boss-man shouted at the taller thinner player.

"She cannot do it!" the player shouted back loosing all of his own patience.

"This is unacceptable! Where am I supposed to find another professional dancer by tonight?"

_Hello, meet your fairy godmother the beautiful and very talented dancer._

I stepped right up to the two arguing men, and the others surrounding them with a sly smile on my face. I placed a hand on the side of my face and leaned my face into it while I tilted my body to one side in what I knew was a very sexy and attention grabbing pose.

"My my gentlemen, is there a problem here?" I asked in a slight deeper more husky voice than my normal tone.

The men stopped their shouting to look at me, and I saw everyone give me the typical checkout, their eyes all moving up and down my frame right from the top of my well tossed blond hair to my legs which were outlined against the thin fabric of the dress I had chosen just for this reason. I could see every man reaching the same conclusion, "Wow this chick is hot!"

Yeah, any woman can get every guy's attention, she just needs to know how to work it, and I had learned what I had to work with and how to use it a long time ago.

The big boss-man opened his mouth to say something, but I cut him off before anything got off the track I wanted.

"I overheard that you were in need of someone to dance for you tonight." I said tilting my head a little more to the side as I smiled at the boss. He blinked and just looked at me for a moment before shaking his head slightly.

"Perhaps I am. What does this have to do with you young lady?" he asked in a much more calm tone than I had heard him use before, but it was still slightly irritated. It was obvious that he didn't want to annoy me because I looked good and all, but he also didn't want some woman butting her nose into his business.

I shrugged a shoulder slightly and adopted more of a pouting look for a moment before turning away. I looked back over my shoulder at the man with a smirk. "I just thought that perhaps you would let me dance for you? After all, you need someone to dance, and I would love to go to a large banquet like this." I said a little offhandedly with a slight pout in my tone.

The boss's attention spiked instantly, and he looked me over again but this time it was with the well trained eyes of a someone who was looking for talent and ability in someone.

"You say you can dance? And dance well? I don't need to waste my time with some girl who cannot do more than twirl in a circle." his tone was all business now, and the other players around him were likewise all serious. It was obvious that despite their bad luck, and their surprise at my arrival, these people were professionals who took their jobs seriously.

_Good, I hate working with amateurs. _I thought while my smirking deepened a little.

"If you would play a little music for me I could show you just how well I dance." I said looking over towards the men with instruments.

The men glanced at each other then at the boss man. He looked at me for a moment before shrugging.

"It would do no harm to see you dance for a moment. But if I say you are of no use, then be on your way." he said sternly. I nodded still smiling. I had no worries that he would send me away; in fact, I was pretty sure he was gonna want me to stick around for a while.

* * *

I had been right. It only took a few minutes for them to see that I was in fact, a fabulous dancer. After that we had to discuss the matter of payment; I wasn't doing this for the money, but if I didn't ask for any they would be suspicious or too curious. So instead I asked for a small amount which naturally, the boss man—whose name is Gez-kar—was only too happy to pay. After that, we went into a small tent that the players had set up and practiced. It was a little tough getting into the swing of rehearsing with the guys since I hadn't done any serious dancing for a while now besides little exercises, but I got used to it and everything was going very well.

Gez-kar was obviously very happy to have found a replacement for his sick dancer, and his new dancer was very talented and worked cheap. The players were happy to have found someone who danced well and wasn't a total diva. They were also happy that they wouldn't have to cancel tonight's show and they could still get paid. In fact, everyone was so generally happy with the fact that I was there, that they let me make a few suggestions.

It was nothing crazy, but it was different from the normal. Which is what I needed because I needed to stand out and get noticed and while people notice an entertainer at first, if they've seen the same type of show too many times they get bored and look away. I needed them to not look away, so I had to change the show a little bit. Not so much that it would be weirdly foreign and unlikable to them, but just enough to be new and fresh.

In fact the only real problem I had was later on. About an hour before showtime, everyone else left the tent and I opened a little chest that contained the costumes for me to wear.

To say they were revealing would be an understatement. Every one of them was more like a bathing suit than a costume and some of them were downright racy.

_Well I guess if the dance is normal and boring, people are still supposed to watch and see if she falls out of her clothes. _I thought pushing one particular outfit to the side. I wasn't able to find a single outfit that gave me what I considered sufficient coverage, but then I knew I was too prudish for this era. I was somewhat prudish for my era too. I never wore a skirt I had to hold down to cross a street or go up the stairs. If you had to hold your skirt down to keep yourself covered, then you really shouldn't be wearing that skirt.

Anyway, I found a costume that was somewhat decent in my opinion. And it was pretty in its exotic way; I just wasn't fond of being revealing even if people did think it was sexy. After all if the only reason they thought you looked good was cause they could see halfway down your shirt, then they obviously weren't friends with you for your winning personality.

The clothes were red which was quite naturally the color to wear if you wanted to get someone's—especially a man's—attention. The material was kinda gauzy, but it wasn't see-through. The shirt, which was really more like a bra, was two triangles which covered my chest then looped up and crossed each other to tie around the back of my neck making a bikini-type halter. The skirt, which was more like a bed sheet cut into two pieces, went around my waist before dropping a few inches down my thighs where they suddenly split on both sides into long and revealing slits that I wasn't very happy with. But I guess it made dancing around easier since my legs weren't restrained. I would just have to be very careful that I didn't let the skirt slip around and show off too much.

I got to wear jewelry which was nice though. The jewelry they had in this era was very different from Tiffany's back home. For one thing it was heavier, and usually bigger since they didn't have special machines and little tools to make tiny delicate little accessories. The jewels I was wearing were all in gold to match the red of my dress thing. There were arm bracelets which attached onto my arm a inch or two below my shoulder, wrist bracelets, and bangle type bracelets for my ankles. I also got a gold headband which went around my forehead and kept my hair back for the most part, and surprisingly the gold of the headband didn't seem to clash with the golden blond of my hair. Call it a miracle I guess.

There was also a girl who came in and chatted with me while she applied the Egyptian style makeup to my face. I had to say it had a nice effect if my reflection in a large bowl of water was anything to go by. There was of course, the heavily applied kohl eyeliner, a light powder for my skin that evened out the tone, and some gel that was like lip-gloss on my lips. I have to say that the makeup these guys had was very nice. Not only did it look good, but it felt really nice on my skin. Probably because everything in it was natural and not made and processed in some big factory somewhere.

Once I was done getting dressed, the players came back into the tent, and I was very flattered and pleased by their shocked and approving looks as they took in my new and even sexier appearance.

While being pleased with myself, I was still totally embarrassed by my lack of clothing though. I swear I had never revealed so much skin before. Not even at pools; I totally preferred tankinis to bikinis, and I saw nothing wrong with that at all.

We spent the last half hour of free time practicing some more while I made sure that none of my dancing revealed too much. But after that it was time to get into the palace and get onstage.

I had pretty much convinced the group to do things my way without making it so obvious that I was pretty much taking over. It really is amazing what a girl can accomplish when she acts vapid, shallow, and looks hot doing it. It almost made me consider being this way all the time.

But not really. Cause that would be annoying.

The rich people had been sitting around in their party for a while now, eating, talking, generally living it up, but now it was time for the entertainers to come on. Meaning me, and my wonderful back up band who actually played very well, and who I had commandeered for the night.

The room was set up with a bunch of pillows and lounge chairs and little tables. The tables were all towards the center of the big room making a type of 'U' shape with plenty of space behind them for the servants to move around in. The open space was faced toward the back of the room where the servants rushed in and out through a side door that was sort of hidden behind some pretty pillars so the rich people didn't have to see the servants going into the kitchen. It was more like the servants just kinda appeared out of no where so they could follow the rich people's every whim. But along the open space in the back was where the music players got into their places. They were off to the side though leaving a space for me to get through when it was time for me to go on stage. Which normally, would have been now, but as I said, I had made a few changes to the show tonight and I wanted to make sure everyone would notice.

Once the players were in their places, people began to look towards them with interest. The lead player looked around at his fellows before nodding and starting the music.

Some of the people began to mutter after a minute. The music the players were playing was strange. Not completely, but there was a noticeable difference to the normal style of music that was played. The drums were played more heavy and more often, causing louder and more frequent beats.

The other noticeable difference, was that even though the players were playing there was no sign of the dancer.

Me.

That's because I was hidden back where the servant's door was, waiting for my cue. I had very specifically changed the music the way I had, and I had also decided to hang back out of view for a moment. I was going to make a very grand entrance, and _everyone_ was going to notice it.

I smirked getting ready for my rush into the spotlight as the music approached the cue I was waiting for.

It was show time.

* * *

Ramses sat in the place of honor on the right of Mayor Jeither. The feast had started about an hour ago, and Ramses considered it to be time wasted. Not that the food was not delicious, but he was not fond of the company. Not to mention that he had other, more important things to do.

Such as finding out who murdered Yeireth.

Finding the man he was supposed to be interrogating dead on the floor had been quite a shock. At first he was unsure quite how to proceed afterwards. But in a way, the man's death had made things less complicated. The fact that he had been murdered made it obvious that he knew something Ramses was not supposed to find out about.

It also meant that Ramses did not have to try and interrogate the man without trying to insult him in case he was innocent, but still get the information he needed.

But despite that Ramses was slight glad to not have to sit through a long, drawn-out interrogation that was no doubt filled with lies and stupidity, he was hardly glad that Yeireth was dead. Now not only could Yeireth not reveal what he knew, but it meant that whoever got rid of him, was willing to kill those he worked with or perceived as a threat. Such a person would be dangerous to have around, and Ramses needed to find out who that was quickly before things got out of hand.

_The way things stand in Egypt now, it won't take much of a rebellion for the entire country to split apart._ Ramses thought glancing around at the rich merchants and nobles present. Egypt was dangling by a thread, and if someone clever enough and ruthless enough came along to cut that thread, it was doubtful that Egypt would ever be able to repair itself before surrounding countries took advantage and further destroyed them.

A rebellion or someone trying to take the throne was the last thing Egypt needed right now.

_Not that the rebellion Yuri started a few years ago helped anything. It only worsened the common people's view of Horemheb, and the nobles._ Ramses's thoughts drifted back to the small rebellion that had taken place nearly 2 years ago.

While he knew that Yuri had started that small rebellion in order to save Ramses himself, it did not change the fact that it only worsened things for Egypt. He was grateful to Yuri for rescuing him and helping rid Egypt of Nefertiti, but Egypt itself was far from rescued, and for the time being he could not see a way to fix it.

Well, he could not see a _quick_ way to fix it. The only way to save Egypt was to work long and hard at all the problems that plagued it, and to solve each one of them one by one. That type of attention and effort was hardly something that he could see Horemheb attempting to handle. In fact, he really did not know many people who would be willing to try so hard. Most people saw the throne as something easy, a power of position, and that was what they used it for. They did not realize or care that being a King was only a position of power because the king was responsible for the welfare and well-being of his entire country.

Ramses sighed. For the night he could do nothing about this. He could hardly stand up and accuse someone of Yeireth's murder in the middle of a banquet when he had no proof yet. Not that he did not have suspicions, but he had no proof.

Ramses looked over at Jeither who was laughing loudly at a joke some merchant had just told him. Did Ramses think that Jeither was the one responsible?

He scoffed inwardly. Such an idea was laughable.

Jeither, from the outside seemed like a perfect candidate for the crime; he was wealthy, connected, and could possibly try to seize power, though being only a Mayor, it would still be incredibly hard for him. But of the people here Jeither seemed the most obvious choice.

Until you got to know the man.

Jeither was, in every way, a fool. He drank too much, he talked too much, he slept and ate too much, he looked to his own comfort so much that he saw almost nothing else. The man probably never had an intelligent thought in his life, and it was only dumb luck that his father was Mayor, and he inherited the position, or he would probably be a dirty beggar on the streets now since he had no way to function without servants and people doing absolutely everything for him.

No, Ramses had no doubt that Jeither had nothing to do with the rumored treason or murder of Yeireth.

The question of course, was who did?

Ramses was distracted from continuing with his line of thought by the arrival of the entertainment. The players had just appeared at the end of the room and were taking their positions obviously ready to start their performance. Many of the nobles and merchants stopped to look at the players with interest to see how well they would do, but for the most part it was not out of the ordinary. Players and dancers were at banquets all the time; this performance would probably be no different than dozens of others.

Once they were settled into their positions, the players began their music.

The first thing Ramses noticed, was that the tune was strange. It was not unpleasent, but it was varied from the typical tunes that were played. It was faster, with more beats from the drums, and the pipes were played more heavily and often. Overall it was a different sound, but being different, it was nice and interesting.

After a moment of music, it was noted that there was an obvious lack of a dancer. There was almost always a beautiful woman to dance along to the music of the players, but this time there was no woman to be found. The music was being played, but the floor was devoid of anyone to dance to said music.

By now most everyone had noticed the difference in the style music, and the lack of a woman dancer, and they watched the players with curiosity. While the music was different and pleasant, the players did not really intend to preform without someone to dance did they?

That question was answered when, as the music got louder, and the drums beat harder, a sudden cloud of blueish smoke appeared in the middle of the empty floor. The onlookers gasped, and a few shouted in surprise at the suddenness of the smoke, but as quickly as it appeared, the smoke began to fade, and standing directly in the middle it, there was a woman.

It was obvious that the woman was the dancer by the way she was dressed and stood. She was poised standing upright, with one arm raised out over her head, and the other arm held out in front of her. One of her legs was raised slightly, the foot pointed forward. The other leg held her up steadily yet flexibly giving her the ability to leap forward into her dance in an instant. Between her arms was a long, flowing red scarf that attached to both her her wrists. Her dress, if it could be called that, was likewise in red. The top was nothing more than two pieces of fabric that covered over her chest then looped around to tie at her back and behind her neck. Her skirt was likewise revealing. It started at her waist and went down to mid thigh where it gave way to long splits on the side of each leg. She wore gold on her arms, wrists, one ankle, and around her head holding back her long golden blond hair. Her outfit, as it was, revealed the slender beauty of her body without being too revealing.

The players which had never paused in the music, continued to play, and the dancer began to dance along with it. She flowed easily with the strange new music, her body moving gracefully, and with practiced ease that showed off her strength and flexibly.

The long wait for her arrival, and her dramatic entrance had contrived so that everyone was watching her now as she danced, twisting the scarf in flowing patterns as she moved her hips, legs and arms along to the fast rhythm of the music. Every eye was on the dancer. She was different in her style of dance which matched the different style of music, she was also very graceful and had exotic good looks that held the attention of the room.

Ramses watched as she moved through her dance. She was coming closer to the head of the table now, where Ramses sat next to Jeither. The closer she came however, the more obvious it was that her eyes were directed at Jeither, and her small smile was directed at the mayor as well. As Jeither looked back at her with obvious interest, her smile became sly and cat-like. Jeither, who seemed to be enjoying her obvious attention very much eyed the woman up and down taking in everything about her.

Her long wavy hair was a gleaming golden-blond color that didn't clash with her smooth pale skin, nor with the red of her dress or the gold of her jewelry. Her eyes, now that she was closer, could be seen as a very interesting violet color that stood out and seemed to hold a mischievous gleam to them. The dancer's body was likewise very nice to look at. She was a little shorter than most, and her chest was on the smaller side, but her overall shape was attractive. Her pale skin was seemingly flawless, the muscles were smooth and toned. And she had nice legs which made sense as she was a dancer and relied very heavily on her legs.

And she was a good dancer. She was flexible and steady with her movements, and her style was new which made her seem even more exotic and interesting. There was an overall sensuality to her that made her very attractive and captivating.

Ramses certainly didn't blame Jeither for looking at the woman with apparent interest. She was quite something to look at. He did prefer his women to have larger chests and be more voluptuous and provocative, but the size of her chest didn't take away from her appearance at all. She had a very well proportioned body that was very pleasing to look at. And those legs, were very nice legs.

Ramses turned his head to listen to a remark being made by the man next to him, but he stopped when the dancer look his way.

She looked him directly in the eye with her strange violet colored irises, and then, she turned up her nose and smirked smugly at him.

Surprised, Ramses watched as she turned and went in the other direction, continuing with her dance. He could not believe the expression she had just made. It was as if she had been mocking him. That was something he could not understand in the least.

Vaguely, he thought there was something strange about that smug expression of hers, but then again it was strange that she would show him, General Ramses such an expression at all. She was obviously a woman with quite strange tastes if she preferred to show her attentions to Jeither, a lowly mayor, than to Ramses who was known as one of the richest and most powerful lords of Egypt. Not to mention one of the best looking, and most capable of pleasing a woman.

Intrigued and perhaps, a little annoyed at the small sting to his pride, Ramses watched as the dancer continued on for a few more minutes. The music was getting faster, and the drums louder as her dancing got faster and more sensual. Despite her obvious bad taste in men, she was admittedly a very sexy dancer.

The music reached a high point, and the dancer turned and jumped leaning forward onto her hands before flipping over her head to land on her feet very gracefully in the center of the floor. She straightened up immediately and grabbed her scarf in one hand. Sending a sly cat-smile out towards the crowd she flicked the scarf out like a whip in beat with the crash of a drum and instantly smoke sprang up at her feet and in a matter of seconds it shielded her from sight with its blueish haze.

The crowd which had began to clap lightly at her tricks gasped loudly again as the smoke appeared from no where once more. Just as before, the smoke disappeared almost instantly however, and when it had, the dancer had vanished.

The crowd gasped and murmured in surprise again then a flash of color drew their eyes to the back of the room where the dancer was currently on her knees in a bow signaling both her respect and gratefulness at being allowed to preform for the nobles, and the end of her performance. The people upon seeing her, began to applaud and cheer and call for more entertainment from the beautiful and exotic woman.

"That was very entertaining." Jeither said clapping enthusiastically.

"Yes, it was very interesting." Ramses agreed evenly. He watched the dancer as she smiled coyly at the crowd and bent to gather the coins that were being tossed to her. Watching her dance, seeing her strange yet alluring style, and seeing her smug smirk had made his mind turn. A suspicion had entered his thoughts and no matter how he tried to ignore it, to deem it as impossible, it would not be banished;

And somehow he couldn't help but think that as crazy as it seemed, his suspicion was right.

* * *

The rest of the night passed rather quickly. Ramses talked with the other nobles and rich men around him, keeping careful track of what was said by whom and to who, and of what he said to others.

Particularly interesting to him, was the dancer that was still preforming in the back of the hall. Now that she had given her big performance she only needed to remain in the back where someone could watch her if they wished, but where she was not distracting someone who was now bored of her.

And some people were still watching her. More than once he saw men laughing to themselves while gesturing to the woman or even calling out to her. The dancer continued to spin and step lively to the beat of the music while mostly ignoring the men who watched or called to her with rude or perverse comments. Sometimes she did respond with a coy smile or a twirl in the caller's direction, but mostly she stayed at the back and continued with her routine.

There was an exception to this, and that was Jeither. He looked off towards the beautiful dancer often, and she quite frequently returned his glances with sly smiles and extra twirls and spins. It was quite obvious at the far-off flirting going on between the two, and it didn't take much to guess what Jeither's thoughts were on the situation.

Ramses only saw the woman look his way once, and that was to turn up her nose at him again with an air of indifferent carelessness which he found to be highly irritating. As such he tried to ignore her presence as much as possible, but his curiosity and the nagging suspicion in his mind made that difficult.

And so the evening passed. Finally however, it was nearly over, and it could not have been too soon for Ramses. Many of the guests had left or were beginning to leave. The players were collecting the money that had been thrown to them by the entertained rich men, and the dancer was helping them with the task.

Jeither had looked at the woman much more often as the evening progressed, and now, as it was obvious that the players and their dancer would be leaving soon, Jeither decided to take action. He quickly snapped his fingers and a nearby servant waiting for just that signal rushed forward into a bow to be given his task. Jeither said something into the servant's ear while keeping his eyes on the woman at the end of the hall who was preparing to leave. The servant, having been given his assignment, backed away from his lord before straightening and rushing around the edges of the room to reach the back of the hall where the players and dancer were. The servant quickly bent to whisper something in the woman's ear. The woman's smile deepened into a self-satisfied smirk, and she nodded her head before turning away from the servant to address her fellow entertainers. Whatever she said to them caused a few to smirk and say something in return while the one who seemed to be lead simply looked at her for a moment before shrugging indifferently. He said a few words to her which caused her smirk to deepen. She waved at the players before turning and walking away with the servant.

"Well User, it was good of you to come. I very much hope you enjoyed yourself and continue to enjoy your stay in this beautiful city." Jeither said in a cheerful tone that had an obvious slur thanks to the numerous glasses or wine he had drunk.

Ramses answered with a fake half smile, and a polite, if indifferent, response. He didn't want this lowly mayor to think that he, General Ramses was so easily impressed, but neither could he offend the man. It probably did not matter what he said however, Jeither was obviously drunk and probably would hardly remember much of tonight in the morning. Not to mention that the man was obviously preoccupied. He seemed to be in quite a hurry to get somewhere as if he was late for something and had to something else to do.

Or a certain person to see.

Ramses was not a fool. That servant had gone to fetch the dancer on Jeither's orders. The woman was probably waiting for the mayor in his chambers now where Jeither would be joining her soon, so that they could engage in a different type of 'entertainment'.

In any other situation Ramses would hardly care about such an occurrence. It was not as if he had never invited a woman to his rooms for late night fun; he had done so quite frequently, in fact, and he did not really care that the mayor was hoping to have some fun of his own. What bothered Ramses was that he was sure if he were to go upstairs and look inside the rooms or a certain brown-haired person he knew and disliked, he would find her missing.

He did not know how she did; he did not know what possessed her to do it, or what she thought she was going to achieve by doing it, but he knew with almost absolute certainty that Kiara was that dancer. Somehow she had changed the color of her hair, of her eyes, and gotten herself the position of a dancer at the banquet tonight.

Not only was he highly annoyed that she had defied him and was out doing useless idiotic things such as dressing up and dancing for dozens of men in a very revealing outfit, but he was hoping that whatever it was she had planned did not go horribly wrong and create more problems for him to have to sort out. He had enough of his own things to deal with already, and he really did not need her creating more trouble, yet somehow that seemed to be all she was capable of doing.

_Hopefully, she has some idea of what she is doing. _He thought with a sigh as he went to his own rooms. He did not really believe that to be true, but she had surprised him before perhaps she would again.

Still, what did she think to accomplish by becoming the Mayor's woman for the night?

Honestly however, that was something he had no wish to think about. He hoped that he did not have to deal with anything about that at all, but he somehow doubted that he would not.

With a sigh he decided that he would simply go to sleep and see what the morning brought. After all, there was no use trying to solve a problem that had yet to occur, and he would be better prepared to deal with whatever happened after a good night's sleep.

He was almost certain to need it.

* * *

**So yeah, this chapter is kinda obvious if you really think about it. I mean, dancing is her talent, acting is her talent so why wouldn't she go act like a sexy, sluty, dancer to get what she's after for the night? Tell me what you think of her playing this attitude, tell me what you think of Ramses's reaction to it and make a guess for the next chapter. ;)**


	50. Getting the Info

Alright next chapter :) Chapter 50 whoop whoop! XD

* * *

**50: Getting the Info**

Well here I was. I had gotten just what I wanted. I was sitting in the Mayor's room waiting for him to show up and have his way with me.

Yeah _right_.

I had already put the sleeping pills in the glass of wine on the side table. The guy would be out cold in less than 10 minutes after he drank it. I could keep him stalled for that long easily.

I'd had a tiny bit of doubt putting the pills in the alcohol though; didn't doctors say not to mix drugs and alcohol? Oh well. It wasn't like there was 'heavy machinery' around for him to operate.

I sat on a couch in the center of the room and shivered. I was still wearing the dancer costume since I had nothing else to wear, and I was cold. But it wasn't so bad. Egyptian nights weren't as cold as Hattsua nights it seemed, but I was still shivering now and again. What I wouldn't give to be out of these skimpy clothes and back in my blue jeans.

_What I wouldn't give to be in a pair of fluffy pajamas, curled up in a soft queen-sized bed surrounded by warm blankets and pillows with music playing back in my own room on the ranch._

Yeah, that's the place to be.

Still right now I would settle for my own room in the palace and any other clothes as long as they were more decent than what I was wearing now.

_Like a real skirt, and a shirt that's more than a bra/bikini-top._

But the outfit and the behavior that went with it worked. Less than five minutes later, the door opened, and in walked the Mayor.

He stepped in, and I could see him looking for me around the room. When he saw me, his eyes widened with surprise, and I smirked to myself. He was playing right into my hands.

I was sitting on the couch with my legs crossed, the skirt's slit showing off a lot of thigh. I had leaned back onto my hands, stretching my stomach muscles and pulling them taunt, as well as pushing my chest out more. My hair had been pulled over to one side and I leaned my head over as well, showing off my neck and shoulders as I stared back at the Mayor with half-lidded eyes and a seductive smile.

The look the mayor was giving me was anything _but_ innocent, and I knew I had him, hook, line and sinker.

_And General said I couldn't be sexy. Ha, stupid head._

Mayor obviously I was sexy. He musta thought he was sexy too for some reason. He licked his lips the walked towards me—well, strutted really, but it looked like he was limping honestly, and his being drunk wasn't helping him. I stood up when he got closer to me and continued to give him a coy smile.

"What a pretty gift I have tonight." he said in a low rumbling voice.

Was he trying to purr? And give me a line? Was he trying to sound appealing? He was failing. Badly.

"Yes, a special gift just for you, just for tonight." I purred back to him. Only my voice actually _did_ come out sounding low and seductive, unlike his.

But hey, I was _good._

And General was an idiot.

"It would be such a waste not to take full advantage of my gift." he tried to reach for me, but I easily avoided his hands.

I was the one with all the control here. He just didn't know it.

"Yes it would be." I picked up the glass of wine and held it out to him. "Why don't we start with a drink before moving on to. . .other activities?"

He came forward eagerly and took the glass from my hand, then giving me a smirk, he downed the full glass in about 5 seconds.

Well, someone had practice at that.

_Ok, time to stall. _I just needed 10 minutes, then I was in the clear.

"Would you like another glass?" I asked a finger tracing the edge of the jug of wine. The mayor watched my finger for a moment, his hand weighing the empty cup in his hand, then he shook his head and grinned at me.

"I've already had so many, no need for another." his eyes moved over me again, and I made sure to keep the smile on my face when I really wanted to grimace.

I reached out to take the cup from him, and he placed it in my hand. Before I could pull my hand back however, he grabbed hold of my wrist and held tight. Not so tight that I couldn't get away if I wanted to, but I had to pretend that I didn't want to.

Keeping my smile, I used my other hand to take the cup since he wasn't going to let go of me, and I placed it on the table by the jug. Once I had let go, he tugged on my wrist and pulled me towards him.

This is where I stall.

Instead of going right to him, I make him pull a little harder. He smirked slightly and did pull harder making me step toward him. Smirking myself, I stepped right past him to stand on the other side of him. Turning to face me, he reached tried to pull me close again, but this time as I moved forward, I twisted from his grip and moved farther away from him. As I went I looked over my shoulder and sent him a sly smile.

"Hm, how impish you are. Do you like playing games?" Mayor asked leering at me.

_I'm playing a game right now. Just not the same game you're trying to play. My game is called, "stall-the-drunk-man-until-he-passes-out-so-I-can-rummage-through-his-room."_

"I adore playing games." I said lightly. Mayor grinned and moved quickly towards me. He picked me up in his arms, which surprised me; I didn't think he was that strong. Not that I'm fat! But maybe the alcohol was helping with his strength. Weirder things have happened; like when I let him put me on the bed and then let him sit right—_right_—next to me.

"Then why do we not play a game together, you and I?" he growled lowly in my ear.

Ick. Double ick.

"Why don't we play?" I asked coyly.

This was _all_ a game for me. Fortunately for me, I was very good at playing this type of game. It was very unfortunate for me too, cause I meant that I might often end up playing this type of game. Which was just plain annoying, and more often than not, disgusting.

Now was a disgusting time.

Mayor put his mouth hard on mine and immediately tried to put his tongue down my throat. I was hardly looking forward to that, so still playing coy, I kept my lips shut tight as he kissed me.

I had to say, it was not a good kiss. I wondered if maybe it was because he was drunk? Or maybe he was just a bad kisser? Who knows, it might be something he doesn't get much practice with. Too bad for him really. But I wasn't about to offer to teach, or help him practice or anything. I mean, ick.

After a minute of loose, rather pathetic kissing on his part, his hands starting moving. When I first felt the hand on my hip start feeling me up, I flinched and had to refrain from pulling back and smacking the hell out the guy, which was my natural, and normal response to being pawed at. I remembered at the last second that I had to let him do that, at least a little and for a little while, or else he'd get very suspicious, and I needed him to get asleep and nothing else.

But after relaxing slightly to let him think it was 'Ok' for him to feel me up—even though it was totally not—I realized that he was as bad at groping as he was at kissing. I really hoped he was being so impaired cause he was drunk, otherwise he probably never got anything with these kinds of moves.

Unless he paid which was totally likely.

_Hey was he planning to pay me? Ew._ That made my stomach turn to think of even though nothing would happen worth getting paid for. Not in my point of view anyway, and my point of view was the only one that counted, cause I wasn't going to be drunk and drugged.

I refrained from flinching when I felt his hand on my stomach and moving slowly upwards.

I did not want him touching my chest, so I had to do something to distract him.

I pulled away from him and sat back on my heels on the middle of the bed. Mayor licked his lips and reached for me again. Instead of letting him get me, I grabbed a hold of him this time and put him back on the bed. He looked surprised but then happy. I really don't think he got to do this often.

Smirking down at him like the seductive tramp I was pretending to be, I bent down and kissed him. The kiss this time was a little better, mostly because I was in charge of it. I allowed him to put his tongue in my mouth a little, and I was disgusted by his very drunk breath. I could practically taste the wine off of him.

This whole thing was really very gag-inspiring. I would have loved to keep stalling and not let him touch me in the least, but on the off chance that he remembered any of this encounter, I wanted to make sure his last memories of tonight were memories that he wouldn't be suspicious of. Therefor I had to let him get a _little_ something from me, so that he when he woke up in the morning he would think he got a _lot_ from me.

_Did I say 'ick' already? Well, get used to it cause I'll be saying that a lot now, and every time I ever think of this again._

Thankfully for me just when his hands started to get really wandering again, I could feel him losing it.

As the drug took effect, his hands feel off of me slowly. Then his lips went slack, and his head fell back into the pillows as he lost the consciousness to stay awake.

_Ah thank goodness. I was gonna barf if I had to keep that up for much longer. I'm probably gonna barf anyway. Damn I would murder for some mouth wash right now._

Not really. Murder was what got me into this crap in the first place. It was certainly enough to make me think twice about attempting to murder anyone. What if I had to do something like this again for whatever reason?

_Although, General could use a nice sharp stick right through him sometimes. _I thought rather cruelly. General had been on my mind all night for one reason or another. He was that kind of annoying after taste that you can't wash out no matter what you drink afterward. But enough abut annoying, stupid-head generals, I had a drunk, knocked out mayor to investigate right now.

The sleeping pills had worked great. The man was down for the count and didn't look like he would be getting up again anytime soon. I waited a few minutes, listening to the sound of the man's annoying snoring. Cause of course, as well as all his other _fine_ attributes, he had an awful, loud grating snore.

When I was sure that he had really and truly passed out, I slowly got out of the bed and stood up carefully. It would be just my luck if he woke up because my moving had somehow woke him. What the hell would I do then? More kissy-face?

_Not, likely._

I straightened up and looked around the room trying to find all the good hiding spots.

Where would you hide things you really didn't want other people to see? It had to be a place that wasn't obvious because there would be servants coming in and out of here all the time. Not to mention that it had to be a rather big place because it had to fit tablets not paper. They didn't have paper in this era after all. So they used clay tablets.

And hieroglyphs.

_**Shit!**_ I felt like smacking myself really hard.

_Oh my gosh, I did all this, let that guy get his hands on me, and flirt with him, and I forgot that I can't even _read _their weird writing? How the hell do you forget something like that? What is wrong with me?_

I couldn't believe it. It wasn't _possible_ that I was _that stupid_! It couldn't be!

I felt like banging my head against the wall, but that would make too much noise. Frustrated, I ran my hands through my hair and held back a loud scream.

"Yes...that feels nice..."

My head shot up, and I looked quickly at the man on the bed. His eyes were still shut, his breathing still deep, but he was twitching in his sleep. And talking too.

A sleep talker? Maybe if he said something interesting this whole night wouldn't be a complete, stupid mistake and failure.

I got close enough to whisper to the sleeping man, but not so close that he could reach out and touch me. I mean someone who twitches and talks in their sleep is hardly very predictable. Who knows where those hands might end up.

"Can you hear me?" I asked softly. I didn't know if sleep-talkers could hear and talk back while still asleep or not. In movies they did, and I sure know that a lot of movie stuff was based of real life, but a lot wasn't.

"You're voice is so beautiful. So soft." he mumbled, his mouth giving a big sloppy smile.

_Awe, that's sweet. Maybe he's not such a loser dummy after all._

Flattery, is a very powerful thing. But I don't let it get to me. Most of the time.

"Thank you. You're very nice too. Since you're so nice, you'll answer a question for me right?" I asked still keeping my voice soft and sweet.

"Of course. I' am very nice." he seemed glad to be flattered too. Who wouldn't be?

"What can you tell me about Yeireth?"

"Yeireth is dead."

I held my breath, and my pulse sped up a little. Maybe I would learn something good after all.

"How do you know that?" I had already figured that it wasn't common knowledge yet, cause no one was talking about it, and that was something that got people talking.

"I'm mayor. I know lots of things." he seemed proud of himself. Even in his sleep he seemed like a 4-year old.

This was it, this was the big question that my whole reason for being here on this stupid mission.

"Do you know who killed him?"

"No."

I felt deflated. But did I really expect him to say, "I did it"?

"But I know why." he said in a sleepy sing-song voice.

I perked right back up. Motive was almost as good as knowing who killed him. Motive caused the murder so it could be traced; if you had motive maybe you did it, if you didn't have motive you probably didn't do it. Obviously.

"Why?"

"Because he knows a lot too. He knew too much."

I was fully..._excited_ wasn't really the right word for it, but it was as close as I could think of for the moment. I was really eager to hear this, and my head was filled with thousands of different theories.

"What did he know?"

And there was silence.

Shit! Had he fallen asleep or something? Like, really asleep? _Shit!_

I was feeling frantic. I was so _close!_ So close to learning something very important! And he had to go and shut up.

"Demkar. He knew about Demkar."

My attention snapped back to the sleepy, drunk, sleeping pill-drugged man.

"Who is Demkar? What's to know about him?

"He is a high noble. Rich, influential." his tone was fading. However many drinks this guy had were finally starting to catch up with him, and I was running out of time. I needed to get the information from him fast.

"What did Yeireth know about Demkar?"

"He knew Demkar is a traitor who worked with Nefertiti. But no one else knows that, so Demkar retained his power."

"No one except Yeireth." I whispered. Oh my goodness. That made so much sense. "Was Yeireth blackmailing him?" I asked.

"Yes, but Demkar wouldn't want to pay; he ss not the type to pay. So he killed Yeireth, Poor Yeireth."

Yeah, _poor_ Yeireth. Poor greedy idiot. Stupid man.

So that's what it was. A rich merchant had somehow found out about a nobleman's treason and used it to try and get more money. The nobleman couldn't afford to let anyone know of his treason because traitors usually end up with no money and dead. But instead of paying the blackmail money, the nobleman had just had the merchant killed.

"This Demkar is a traitor? How bad is he?" I wanted to get as much intel as I could. After all this was turning to be a great source. All kinds of info for free. Well. _Almost_ for free.

"Oh...he would do anything...to get the throne. Politics...money...murder. There is nothing...he would not try." his words were coming out slower and softer with every minute. I was out of time, I had gotten all I could at this point. Now it was time for damage control.

"You really do know a lot don't you?" I said in a sugar-sweet voice.

"Of course...I am mayor. It is my job...to know things."

"You're very good at it too. And so handsome." How nice I am to be so generous tonight. But it was fair payment I suppose, a few little white lies for news I had gotten from him. He was almost asleep now, I had to make sure that he wasn't thinking of Yeireth and Demkar when he did fall asleep. His dreams and memories tomorrow had to have no traces of this conversation. His dreams and memories had to be filled with things I wouldn't mind him thinking about.

"You are so beautiful. I am glad I got to lay with you. It was very satisfying."

Gag. _Gag._ Ok, so I would defiantly mind him thinking and dreaming about _that. _I would very much mind that, but that was the whole point of this little charade wasn't it? I'd just have to live with the knowledge that some old, drunk, stupid dude thought he had slept with me.

Gag.

This was certainly one of the ickiest nights I had had to suffer through in a _long_ time.

Well, I had gotten what I wanted anyway. Maybe not the name of the person who had killed Yeireth, but I knew the why. Tracing Demkar to the murder probably wouldn't be too hard either. Heh, maybe I'd dress up and play dancer-ho again.

_Never._ Again.

Anyway, the big question was, now that I had what I wanted, what next?

_Get the hell out of here before he wakes up and gets frisky, or before someone comes in for whatever reason, and sees him knocked out and me fully dressed and obviously not 'laying with him'._

The problem was of course, after I got out of here then what? Just wander down the halls to my room? And what, no one would notice that? I also had to go back to the players and get my money from them. I would have blown them off for that since I didn't need the money I had earned dancing, but I needed to give them the costume back. If not for the fact that I didn't want to steal it from them cause it probably cost them a lot, then for the fact that I didn't know what I would do with it if I didn't give it back. I couldn't put it in my room obviously, so leave it on a table somewhere? That didn't seem right.

_So, get out of here, get back to the players and give back this outfit, then I need to take a bath._

Yeah, a bath would rinse the dye out of my hair, get the make-up off my face and possibly get rid of the lingering ickiness I felt from this guy's feeling me up.

But all that would have to wait a little while. As much as I wanted to, I knew I couldn't just run out of here right now. I had to stick around for a while so to anyone on the outside it would seem like...well...like a lot of things. But in any case, if anyone noticed me leaving after what hadn't been the longest time, they might be suspicious of what had really gone on in here, and then the mayor might hear about it and wonder what had really gone on too.

_Or maybe I'm just paranoid, and I should go ahead and get out of here. And besides, who says it hasn't been long enough for, whatever to happen? I'm no expect here, and he's obviously not, so if anyone did even bother to waste a second thinking about it, they might just figure we had a 'quickie', and I got the heck out of here once I was done._

Which would have been true thinking except for the 'quickie' part.

After arguing with myself about it for a few minutes, I decided that I'd wait five more minutes then I was outta here. After the five minutes were up, I slowly opened the door and poked my head outside to look around. I didn't see anyone around, but I knew they were there. From my walk to the room I knew there would be 2 guards at the end of the hall hidden in little archways in the wall. And there was always, _always_ a servant around somewhere.

_I'll just have to suck it up and get out of here. Surely they won't try to talk to me. What would I say if they did?_ I walked out of the room, keeping my head up high and my posture confident. I was still the sexy dancer after all, I could hardly start acting self-conscious or sneaky now. _They won't say anything to me; what would they say? "How'd you enjoy it?" Nasty._

So, I strode down the hall, my eyes looking straight ahead and keeping my face a mask of sly coolness that betrayed nothing of my true intent or thought.

It actually was surprisingly easy to get through the rest of the night now. All the visiting nobles and other 'big people' had gone to their own homes, and the only people awake here were the servants and guards, and they didn't bother me. I was just the dancer who had gone to bed with the mayor, so they had no reason to pay me any attention.

Anyway, I got back to the courtyard were the players were, and I was happy and lucky to find that one of them was still up. He gave me the money that I had been promised and the 'tips' that had been thrown for me by the nobles, in return I took off the costume and put back on the plain dress that I had originally been wearing, and gave the fancy revealing clothes back to him.

"You know, you are very good at this. I am sure you could convince Gez-kar to hire you. If you traveled with us you could earn a lot of money." the player told me as I handed over the costume.

I smirked at him, and shrugged my shoulders tilting my head to the side. "Perhaps, but it would probably get boring after a while. I only do things that are fun." I leaned in close to the man as he held his breath and stared at me with big eyes. "But thank you so much for the offer. It was a lot of fun. Keep me in your memories ok?"

The poor guy could only nod. Still smirking I turned and walked away only giving a small wave from over my shoulder as I left. After all, I had to play my part til the very end didn't I? That's why I was one of the best. I played my role, and I played it _right,_ all the way until the last second I had it. Especially if it was a fun role.

This one hadn't always been fun, but it had its upsides. Like seeing everyone get all crazy over me. No, I'm not a horrible girl who needs everyone falling in love with her, but all the attention once in a while sure is nice.

The only real hard part was finding a way to get the dye out of my hair without anyone being witness to it. In the end, I found a long piece of fabric laying outside. I used it to cover my head so you couldn't see what the color of my hair even was. Then I simply walked into my room. Once there, I just used the water inside my room to get as much blond out of my hair as I could. I took the contacts out and put them away. I was still a little grungy, and I think there was a little bit of dye left in my hair, but it would be alright til I could get a proper bath in the morning.

Wearing my softball shorts and t-shirt like usual, I curled up in the soft bed, and let out a happy sigh. Well, I wasn't dead or caught, and I hadn't had to do much more than kiss with the old guy. So an alright night.

_Ha, take that General. Maybe I can't do as much as I want, but there are certainly things I _can _do that _you _can't._

Feeling satisfied that I had good information, and smug that I had disobeyed General and showed him up without him even knowing it, I fell asleep quickly.

* * *

When I woke up the next morning. It was still freakin early, but not as early as it had been the day before when General had so rudely woken me. Also the awakening itself was much nicer; I woke up because I heard the servants in my room changing the water and collecting the dirty landry to clean. It was like room service in a hotel, only instead of waiting until the person was out of the room, they just did everything as quiet as possible so that when you woke up everything was just the way you needed it to start the day.

It was quite nice really, but also made me feel a little guilty. I hardly liked having poor strangers get up before the sun just to wait around on me.

_But if it wasn't me it would be someone else. Its their job and they've been doing it for a long time so they're probably used to it by now. _I tried to reason with myself. I didn't want to become a pampered brat who took advantage of everything, but for the short amount of time that I would be here, I figured I wouldn't stir the waters too much. At least not for these people; I'd just keep their jobs as easy and simple as possible, and then they could go on with their lives, and I could go on with mine.

After I woke up I took a bath, and this time, I did force the servants to abandon their job; excuse me but I can wash myself, and I don't need _anyone's_ help to do it. They put up a little fuss, but then they went away leaving me to get all the grim off of my skin on my own.

As I soaked and let the warm water wash everything away and sooth my muscles, I smirked slightly to myself.

_Won't General be surprised when _I'm _the one who tells him what happened? Ha, that'll show the bastard! And he'll never even know how I did it._

* * *

Ramses waited until after he had bathed and eaten to go looking for Kiara. He hadn't yet decided what to do about her yet. He was certain that she had been the dancer the night before.

_Only the gods know why. Did she really want to sleep with Jeither that badly? She could have simply asked him if that were the case; there was really no need for her to dress up and preform in front of everyone, making it obvious what she wanted to do._

Quite honestly Ramses could care less about whom the strange woman wanted to spend her nights with. It wasn't any of his business, and he felt no reason to make it so. But he did not want have to deal with the fall-out of any of her trysts, so he hoped that whatever it was that she was doing, wasn't going to come back at him.

Somehow it didn't seem quite right to him though; Kiara didn't really seem to be the type to randomly spend her nights with someone. She seemed much more like the type to pick a person and cling to that person until she was forced to let go. Certainly the type of woman he wanted to avoid, but not the type to have a night's fling like this.

Not that it mattered in the least. Unless it became public, then it would very much become his problem. Such was the trouble of having a 'goddess' around.

Ramses sighed to himself and continued on. After a few minutes he reach the room where Kiara was staying. He went inside and saw Kiara sitting on a couch with a single servant standing ready by the doorway. With a wave Ramses dismissed the servant; knowing Kiara, he didn't want any witnesses around to whatever was about to happen.

Kiara looked up and stared at him for a moment before smirking in a smug and condescending manner.

_That right there._ He thought looking at her face. That was exactly the face she had made at him last night. It was exactly the look she gave him every time she thought she had bested him. If he hadn't seen that smirk on her last night, he would have never imagined that the sexy, exotic dancer and this annoying person were the same.

"Well if it isn't the arrogant General. Sorry, but I'm already awake, so you can't dump me out of bed this morning." she said with a hint of annoyance.

"Yes you are awake. And you seem to be in a good mood. Did you have a pleasant night last night?" he asked watching her carefully.

"What you mean after you ditched me to go to your frat party?"

A what party? 'Frat'? "I would hardly choose to take someone like you with me if I had any choice."

Kiara scowled and turned so that her knees were drawn up, and her arms were crossed firmly over her chest. "You're such a jerk. You think you know everything don't you?"

"Obviously not. If I knew everything I would have known how to rid myself of your irritating presence weeks ago."

Kiara jumped up glared at him. "You are such an asshole! Can't you ever give it a rest?"

"And you are very unmanageable." Ramses responded to her heated words calmly as he stared her down.

"I am just fine! You're the one who's unmanageable and arrogant and stupid and mean and irritating and...and, and ignorant!" Kiara finished triumphantly with another condescending smirk.

Ramses ignored most of her rant except for that last part which had made her seem the most smug. "Ignorant am I?" Was she referring to his not knowing about her escapades last night? Perhaps he should tell her just what he knew about the night before. See if she was still smirking after that.

"You _are_ ignorant! You don't know everything at all." she crossed her arms and stared at him confidently.

"I thought we already established that I was unaware of 'everything' as you put it." he answered staring back at her just as evenly.

"Yes well, I know something you don't know."

"Oh you think so?"

"Yes. Yes I do." she stuck her tongue out at him again, and again he wondered what that was supposed to mean.

"And what would that be?" he thought he'd humor her a little. Let her think she had the upper-hand for a few moments. It would be even more fun to win over her then.

"Demkar." she said turning her back to him.

For a moment he said nothing. Demkar was a high noble in Thebes; almost on Ramses's level. The man was devious, rich, and sneaky. Overall a man that Ramses did not really like, and had little respect for, but a lot of caution towards. What could Kiara possibly know about him? How could she have even heard of him beyond possible rumors, or the simple mention of his name as a noble?

"What about Demkar?" he asked his voice and his expression gone cool and unreadable.

Kiara looked over her shoulder at him with that smirk, and he was tempted to grab her shoulders and shake the look off her face.

"About Demkar, and a friend of his." she said deliberately vague.

He did not like that she might actually know something he should know, and that she was keeping it from him. He moved forward until he was directly behind her, her back almost touching his chest.

"What about Demkar?" he asked with firm demand. Kiara looked aver her shoulder at him again, the smirk gone from her face, and in its place an appraising look as if she was seeing just how far she could push him.

He wasn't going to be pushed that far.

"Kiara," he started softly. "You are going to tell me what you know."

She turned to face him with her arms crossed, and a scowl on her face. "And if I don't?" she demanded loudly.

Ramses leaned down until his face was just a few inches from hers and looked directly into her angry blue eyes. He knew just what to do to get her compliance. And it was painfully easy.

"You will tell me, because if you do not, then I will have to tease the information from you by finding every, single one of your weak spots."

"_What?_" Kiara jerked back with a squeak. Before she could get any farther than a step away however, Ramses made a quick grab for her, one arm going around her waist and the other hand grabbing onto her chin and keeping her face close to his own.

"Let—let go of me!" she tried to speak loudly, but his arm on her waist tightened and his fingers moved and pressed into her skin in a way that made all the air go right out of her lungs.

"Tell me what you know." he spoke softly, his face looming in towards hers so that she couldn't look away from his very intense gold and brown eyes.

Kiara stuttered and tried to pry his arm from around her waist, but she was too flustered to be very effective. She couldn't seem to think well with his face so close to hers, his eyes boring into her, and his hand making strange patterns on her skin through the thin clothing she wore.

"Stop, stop, I'll tell you! I was gonna tell you anyway, so just let go of me!" she put both hands on his chest and shoved him back hard while twisting to get out of his grip. He was too strong for her though, and all she succeeded doing was causing them to loose her balance so that they fell.

Ramses couldn't help but inwardly laugh at how flustered she was. Just simple touching always made her act this way. Now she was lying face down on the ground, and he was on top of her with both arms around her waist.

_She tried to get away from my grip and only ended up putting herself more at my mercy._ He thought smirking.

"Then go ahead and tell me." he said in her ear.

Kiara struggled underneath him, but he was bigger and heavier than her, so she couldn't move.

"Nefertiti _alright?_ Demkar was a big supporter of hers, and he'd do anything to get more power! He's a traitor okay? Now get off of me, you _asshole!"_ she practically shrieked that last part to him, and he could see that her entire face was red from embarrassment.

_Traitor? With Nefertiti?_ He had suspected as much more than once, and a rumor or two had mentioned it. But stupid as Kiara was, she was smart enough that she wouldn't give credit to this if it was only a rumor. Somehow she knew for a _fact_ that Demkar was a traitor.

_Jeither. Jeither must have told her. That was what she did in there last night. _He couldn't believe it. She had actually done something good. Maybe her method was ridiculous, but he couldn't deny the use of the results.

It wasn't just that he knew for certain now that Demkar was a traitor, but there was someone else who knew as well; Jeither. That might not mean much at the moment, but it might mean a lot later. If Jeither knew more about how Demkar worked with Nefertiti, or of what other schemes the man had in mind, Ramses could use that knowledge to get rid of the traitor and eliminate a threat to Egypt.

It was certainly something that he could make use of later.

"Would you get off of me?" Kiara suddenly asked trying to keep her voice low and calm. Ramses noticed that she wasn't doing a very good job of it.

"Oh is this bothering you?" he asked still smirking down at her. She was so easy; he was simply laying on her. He hadn't even attempted to touch her or anything like that. Not that he ever would.

"Just get off!" she couldn't keep the shriek down this time, and with a chuckle he finally got up and sat back so that he was no longer laying on her.

As soon as his weight had shifted, Kiara jerked herself off the floor and out from under him. She sat on her knees and faced him glaring with hot anger in her eyes and redness in her cheeks.

"You, are a bastard." she said slowly biting out each word like it pained her.

He just smirked at her and pulled one knee up and leaned his arm across it. "You are easily flustered it seems." he said his tone light and slightly mocking.

"I can't see how anyone can stand to be anywhere near you!" she hissed turning even redder.

"And I cannot see how anyone would wish to be with you either." he shrugged and watched as she puffed up with even more indignant anger.

"Lots of people like me! I'm a likeable person! Most everyone likes me!" she retorted heatedly.

He shrugged again and stood up. Kiara, not liking that he was above her also stood, but because of the height difference between the 2 of them, he was still above her.

This was the game that he and Kiara almost always seemed to end up playing. And honestly, it was fun. It also irritated him like nothing else to hear some of the things she said, but it was so refreshingly amusing to tease and taunt her, and to see what she might say that he could laugh at.

"Of course they do." he said in an obviously patronizing voice which caused Kiara to bristle even further.

"They do!" she almost screamed. Ramses smirked at her.

"Then today perhaps, you should go out with some people." he said evenly.

"I will! And they'll love me!" she took his challenge immediately and without thinking about it, just as he knew she would.

"Alright then. I will tell the servants to get you ready for your outing." Ramses said coolly as he turned to leave the room.

Kiara opened and closed her mouth for a moment suddenly realizing what she had just gotten into. "Wait a minute, you're going to put me alone with some strange, snobby, rich people?"

"Why not? They shall _love_ you, after all." he opened the door and stepped out, but just before the door was shut, he turned back and put his head in. "Oh and Kiara, be sure and behave as well as you can. You would not wish to embarrass yourself so entirely on only your second day here."

Then he shut the door and walked away once again to the sound of Kiara's angry screeching.

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**A/N: Review and tell me what y'all think of all that XD Poor Kiara. Ramses is so awful to her somtimes. But it's all going to go wrong on him soon ;)**


	51. Proper Day

**Hey all! Loooooong time no see right? That is incredibly bad of me. But I finished my first year of college! On the dean's list with a 3.61 GPA! So yeah me right? That's kind of like a good excuse...kinda. But I've never forgetton Kiara and I once again promise that if I'm old and gray and can't type well, I will eventually finish this story. so enjoy this chapter! I can't make any promises about when the next one will be up**

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**51: Proper Day**

General didn't actually send me out with any nobles or anything for which I was secretly very grateful. After dealing with General himself, I was not at all in the mood to deal with any more spoiled, arrogant nobles. I'm sure General decided not to go through with his threat for his own sake however. He probably didn't think I could possibly behave well and keep from causing a scene or embarrassing him. But I totally could have. I mean, hello? I am _Kiara Brown_. Internationally recognized as one of the top preforming artists in the world and possibly of our generation. And yes, maybe I was a little spoiled too. But at least I was for a reason. I knew I was good; I worked hard for my career and success. General was just born lucky and naturally an arse. So yeah, I totally could have kept from embarrassing him or doing anything bad. It would have been incredibly easy for me. Except that I was in a bad mood which meant that even though I could have played the role of a sweet, good girl, I did not at all feel like doing it.

Because in reality, I'm such a baby. Not that I care. And it never really mattered until I got here to this freakin weird era of no plumbing or cookies or anything wholesome and good. Because back home, my baby-ness had been cute and maybe a little weird, but still cool. I was the cool kid who had friends and lots of fun. Not drinking, smoking, cursing, or any of that type of fun, but fun more like sneaking out at night to tip cows and race horses or dance like crazy people under the stars by a bonfire. So maybe I'm still a kid or baby-ish, but I liked that about me.

But of course, even though I wasn't placed in the company of any rich-whiny brats, I also wasn't left on my own. Instead of being left to myself in my room or a near-by garden or something, an older woman came to get me soon after General left, and she took charge of the rest of my day.

"Have you bathed yet?" she asked in a cool remote voice almost the minute she finished introducing herself to me.

"Um, no." I answered uncertainly. I mean I'd washed my face and brushed my hair out. I did have that bath last night. Wasn't water scarce in the desert? People shouldn't be having baths all the time if there was no water. And no plumbing.

"That is unacceptable. Proper Egyptians must bathe everyday to purify themselves and begin their days fresh." the woman replied sternly. I very suddenly got the impression that this woman was like some old-timey nanny who loved her traditions and loved checking on people to make sure those traditions were followed. But hey, who was I to complain about another bath? I liked baths.

"Hm, ok then. A bath it is."

The woman sniffed at my casual response, and I figured she wished I were more dignified and uppity like the other Egyptian nobles.

_ She should probably just get over that, "uppity" doesn't come naturally to my character._

_ Yeah, but she's the nice lady whose taking us to a nice hot bath. Maybe a little play acting for her wouldn't be so bad. Besides, it's fun to play pretend._

Having convinced myself to act a little more "cultured" for this woman's benefit I stood straighter and gave a little wave of the hand that I'd seen all the nobles do when they ordered servants around. The woman, whose name was Selca, gave a bow and then turned to go. "Follow me." she said as she left the room.

I followed along after her, keeping my posture perfectly straight and a polite mask of indifference on my face. Inside I was getting giddy though. Instead of having to deal with General, I was going to get a nice soothing bath all to myself. _Bath time, bath time, bath time for me. Rub-a-dub-dub in the tub, splashy splash clean in a flash. _

Oh yeah, I'm a baby remember? But like I said, I don't mind. It's more fun my way.

We got to a big bathroom and inside was the usual little pool in the floor that was actually the bath-tub. There was a couch off to the side and some vases and statues along the walls for decoration. There was also some highly polished silver that served as a type of mirror, and lots of little bottles scattered around the room each filled with potions and creams and stuff that made skin look good and smell pretty. It was light from the many candles and some holes along the very top of the wall to let in air and sunlight, and it smelled sweet and clean. It really was a wonderful place. In fact, just stepping into it gave you a refreshing feeling.

"Hurry and get into the water." Selca said as she went about looking at all the little bottles, picking up a few, and putting them back down or keeping them as she moved along.

_Bathe with her in here? _Well that put a damper on my happy mood. I did not like bathing in front of people. I did not enjoy being in any-type of undress before other people. Not because of self-conscience issues or anything, though maybe I had a few of those, little ones. But I was just incredibly modest and embarrassed when it came to not being sufficiently covered in front of people.

Oh yeah I know, how does someone get to be big in the entertainment industry without showing a little, or more often a lot of skin? Well I had talent. And a good agent. And a habit of turning down roles with too much skin-showing in them. I mean I didn't just toss a script because it had a bathing suit scene or something, but I had strict limits that I wasn't willing to pass. And whenever I did have to show some skin, like in a bathing suit scene, I was focused on the role I was playing and it didn't bother me as much. Oh sure I freaked out before and afterward, but at the actual time of rehearsing and filming I was totally in character.

So I guess now I ought to get into the "indifferent noble-person" character, and pretend I didn't care that someone was about to watch me take a bath.

Yeah, this was going to be a real test of my mental abilities.

I sighed deeply before looking to make sure that Selca was more focused on the bottles than on me. I very quickly undressed and moved to slid into the water just as quickly hoping that by the time Selca looked up again, I would be in the water and partially hidden that way.

Since I was being fast, I didn't notice until too late. Where was the steam that should be rising off of the hot water?

I hit the water and couldn't hold back the shriek. "It's freezing!" I exclaimed loudly. The water felt like ice on my skin and every second I was in it, it was leeching out my body heat and turning me into ice. I huddled down and hugged myself, drawing my knees up and training to retain as much body heat as I possibly could.

"Of course it is cold. The cold water purifies your body and soul." Selca said in a matter-of-factly voice. "You foreigners and your strange ways."

I wanted to shriek again. I wanted to jump up out of the water and wrap myself into about 30 warm towels. But looking at Selca and hearing her talk about "purifying" I had a feeling that if I got out, she'd just make me get back in, and I only wanted to do this once. Ever.

_Let's just get this over with, and move on, then never do it again._ I thought with chattering teeth. _Think happy warm thoughts. Like cookies. But less depressing. Cause I can't have any cookies._

Well, so this "happy" bath time was quickly going down hill.

Of course the torture was just starting. Having found all the bottles she wanted, Selca now marched over to the water and seemed to want to help me take this bath.

"What are you doing?" I nearly shrieked when she knelt by the pools edge and reached toward me.

"Enough nonsense. The morning is already half wasted, and we must hurry."

"Well ok sure. Hand me some soap, and I'll get cleaned up real quick."

Selca made a "tut" noise and pursed her lips. Clearly she thought I was being difficult and troublesome. But what _I _thought, was that this chick was out of her mind if she thought she was going to help me take a bath. Excuse me, but I'd been doing this solo for about 16 years now.

"You cannot possibly expect me to believe you wish to wash yourself?" she sounded like the idea was scandalous to her.

"Yes actually, that's exactly what you should believe. I _always_ wash myself." I insisted. I tried to further make my point by scooting over in the pool until I was farther away from her. I even ducked down into the water a little more, but that was hurtful in its own way cause that meant that the icy-cold water covered even more of me.

_Oh this is really not my day._ I thought shivering miserably.

_Day?_ This whole _"vacation"_ was a nightmare! In fact, I'd never even woken up from the nightmare that was this _entire_ back-in-time experience!

"Noblewomen never wash themselves. I cannot image that this is any different in Hattsua. How can you be sure to be properly cleansed without assistance?" she really did sound scandalized. Well I have to say that having someone else clean me up was what sounded like a scandal.

"Well I always do it myself. I prefer to make sure that I am properly cleaned on my own thank you." I tried to sound a little haughty as I said it. Maybe if I played up to being a rich-spoiled brat she'd let it go.

"What a ill-natured way to behave."

Then again maybe not. I was beginning to get used to the awful water temperature, but I didn't want to stay in here forever. So one of us was gonna have to either give up, or we were going to have to compromise. And since she didn't seem to want to quit, and I certain as hell wasn't going to, compromise it is then.

"Fine. You can wash my back for me, and I'll get the rest." I offered trying to sound like I was giving her a good deal. Her lips pursed even further, but then she looked up at the window-slits at the top of the wall where the sunlight was coming in. She must have decided that this was all taking up too much time, and we needed to get moving because thankfully, she agreed with me. She poured out some very sweet smelling syrupy liquid, and then passed the bottle to me before scrubbing hard on my back. I bit my lip from saying anything because she really did scrub _hard._ Was she trying to purify me by scrubbing me from existence? I got some of the nice soap in my own hands and began to wash up the rest of me, trying hard to ignore her and get fully clean at the same time because I had no doubts that if she thought I was doing it incorrectly, she would insist on doing it all for me again.

It took about 20 minutes with her scrubbing my skin hard, and I even let her wash out my hair for me. That actually was kind of nice. She was more gentle with my hair, and it kinda felt like a massage. But then it was time to get out of the water, and I wanted to die of embarrassment. I made Selca get the towel and bring it to me so that the instant I was out of the water I could be in the towel. Despite that, I could still feel my face burning red.

Out of the water I underwent the rest of the bathing ritual that apparently all "proper Egyptian noble women" went through every morning. I know all about this ritual now because Selca made sure to tell me about it every step of the way.

"You must become properly and thoroughly dry or your skin will become rough, and proper noble women should never have rough skin." she said as she rubbed my long hair with a towel.

_Oh no, and what a scandal it would be for that to happen. _I thought sarcastically after she said that. You'd think that because I was getting a beauty treatment, I'd be happy, but no. This woman, though nice enough was very bossy and pretentious. Every thing she did she narrated to me like I wasn't smart enough to figure it out or understand it's meaning.

"We must make sure your nails are properly cut and cared for. It would be unseemly if they were unkempt." she said as she used a small knife to shape my fingernails. It made me nervous to have her do that. I certainly liked using nail-clippers and a file much better.

"You must brush your hair often and gently. Hair that is brushed infrequently or too roughly can be damaged and unattractive." she said running a comb through my hair.

_ Oh really? You sure? So the oppressively dry heat and harsh winds aren't what's giving me split ends? It's because I don't spend all my time brushing my hair?_

She pursed her lips even more and ran some more nice smelling lotion stuff into my hair. I figured it was more conditioner-like stuff and hoped it would help keep the frizz and dryness under control. "This strange color is highly irregular and too obvious. Proper Egyptian women should never try to be so visibly obvious and strange."

I bite my lip on a retort. _Well sorrrrry if my hair color offends you, but it's not like I could help it when I was _born_ with this hair._ I refrained from saying anything only because I didn't want to get lectured or argue about it. Maybe I wasn't always happy with having dull brown hair, but I didn't need her or anyone else telling me it was "strange." My hair was my own to pick at, and she had no business to.

Once she finished with my hair, she moved on to rubbing lotion into my skin. Once again we argued about how much she was allowed to do with that. I let her lotion up my back, arms, and legs but insisted once again on doing the rest by myself. After that was finally over, I got to put on some clothes for which I am eternally grateful. Selca gave my clothes a disapproving look, but I wasn't going to wear some skimpy Egyptian dress. Maybe not all the dresses women wore in Egypt were bad, but plenty of the ones "proper Egyptian women" wore were less than bedsheets draped around themselves. And that I was not doing.

Instead, I wore a simple white dress that had been brought over from Hattsua with me. It had wide straps for shoulders and a full skirt that flowed as I walked. The waist was high and accented with a pale blue scarf. The blue seemed to make Selca happier. I guess it's because blue clothes were expensive here in the dawn of time, and she felt better taking care of someone who was supposedly good enough for expensive clothes. A proper Hittite woman or whatever.

I was decked out in simple, small gold earrings and a gold band-like necklace. Selca spent an enormous amount of time putting eyeliner onto my eyelids and then she dabbed at my lips with some more lip-balm. Then she brushed my hair out one more time and sprinkled some sweet-smelling water on me that was probably supposed to act like perfume. It did smell nice; like lilies.

The sprinkling of perfume seemed to signal the end of the bath from hell ritual. Selca stood and walked toward the door motioning for me to follow after her. I stood from the chair I'd been sitting in and followed after her. As we left the bathing chamber, some servants entered into to clean up after us or whatever. As Selca led me on to whatever was next—for which I was both curious and not to find out about. I thought about the bath. It had been embarrassing as hell, but the end results were admittedly pretty nice. My skin did feel smooth and light now, and my hair was much silkier.

_Egyptians may have no concept of personal space, but they do know how to live comfortably._ I decided as we continued walking.

We ended up in a small sitting room where we had a light lunch. There was some fruit and veggies and bread. There was also just a little meat of some sort that I'm figuring was some kind of bird, but I'm not really sure. I guess it's a good thing that I'm not picky when it comes to food. But when you grow up on a farm, and you and all your friends dare each other to eat dirt and ants or get forced to eat very old recipes made by all your friends' mothers and grandmothers you learn not to care as much about what you're eating.

Once the we were done eating, Selca stood and led me off again. _Well no wonder most Egyptians are so skinny. _I thought as we walked through more halls. _They eat little meals and walk all the time._ Not that I minded, but there was a definite pattern that could easily become very boring. We ended up outside which I did not mind at all. It was a beautiful day full of warm sunshine, gentle wind, and deep blue skies. The garden we were in was beautiful as well. It had lots of beautiful, well cared for trees and flowers and even a small pond that had fish swimming in the water and lilies floating on the surface. The air had a sweet smell from all the flowers, and that combined with the overall loveliness of the place put me in a happy, lazy mood instantly.

There were some couches laid in a corner of the garden, under the shade of one of the trees, and that's where Selca led us. We sat in the couches, and I sighed. Yeah, Egypt was pretty awesome. The couches were soft, the food was good, the sun was warm, the only problem was the absolute lack of privacy.

For a while Selca said nothing, and I said nothing, and we both just relaxed in comfort. After a while she looked over at me with pursed lips again. "Would you care for a game perhaps?" she asked. I looked back at her trying to figure out if she really wanted to play or if she was just asking to be polite. In the end I decided that it would probably be rude to say no. And if she hadn't wanted to play she shouldn't have asked in the first place.

"What game did you have in mind?" I answered. Selca gave a small approving smile before clapping at the servants. "Bring a Senet board." she ordered them. I have to say that as pretentious as she was with me, she was even worse with the servants. When she ordered them around she was incredibly bossy about it, and she honestly clapped _at_ them. It was highly annoying. These were people too.

A Senet game was set between our two couches quickly, and Selca smiled at me in a little high and mighty way again. "Have you ever played Senet?" she asked. I shrugged.

"Once or twice."

"Then you understand the rules. Let us play."

I could just see it, she was so sure of herself and absolutely certain that she could beat me. I wondered if it was because she thought she was that good, or because she thought I was some strange Hittite weirdo. In any event, she was entirely too obvious in the way she played, and she wasn't nearly as good as Kel.

I trounced her easily.

"I win." I announced lightly as I played the final move. Selca pursed her lips and stared at the board for a moment before looking up at me. I kept my face clear and indifferent, the way all other Egyptians seemed to love doing, and she turned away.

"Shall we play again?" she asked in a tight voice. I nodded and reset the game. She tried a whole lot harder the second time around, but I still got her pretty easily. Her face had a red tint to it when I won the second time, and she ordered the servants to remove the board.

_Sore loser, which is what makes you a loser._ I shrugged to myself as the servants packed the game up and removed it. It's not like I could help it if she was a bad player and I was a good one. I wasn't going to lose on purpose for her. Or for anyone else either.

"So what do we do now?" I tried to keep the smugness out of my voice, but I don't think I convinced her entirely, cause Selca gave me a sharp look and pursed her lips even more. The woman looked as if she were constantly tasting lemon.

"Now we shall read in silence and peace." she said clapping at the servants in an irritating way. Instantly one of the servants ran off, probably to get some scrolls for reading or something. That was no help for me though because I couldn't read hieroglyphs. But I sure as heck wasn't gonna tell her that. Instead when the servant came back, he handed Selca a selection of scrolls to read. She picked one and waved the rest away. The servant brought the rest for me to pick one out of, but I smiled at him and waved him away.

"Read to me."

Selca rasied an eyebrow and stared at me. "Pardon me?" she asked sounding surprised. I smiled at her with a court-woman's slyness.

"I feel more like resting myself. But you read to me." I said settling back into the couch and even more and closing my eyes looking for all the world like I was highly comfortable and enjoying myself. And I was. Haha.

Selca was silent for a moment, probably wondering what horrible thing she did to deserve getting stuck with me, but then she began to read in a low voice. I smiled to myself.

The scroll wasn't actually very interesting. It was actually pretty dry; just some old philosopher wondering about life and all. Not that I mind be philosophical; it actually makes good cool conversation, but this particular guy was just boring and pretty lame. But I didn't bother to say anything. Instead I just kinda dozed and watched what was going on around me. Not that there was much to watch. There weren't many people in the garden with us besides a few servants standing by, and the occasional passerby. But there were enough little things to watch, and I have such a big imagination that I wasn't too bored.

_So what if that little bird in the tree there, flies down and lands on that girl's shoulder, and starts singing to her. Maybe the girl will sing back, or maybe she'll push it away, and it will get offended and run off to it's bird friends and come back with reinforcements and start swarming and chasing the girl until she has to run away, and then in triumph the birds will start singing louder and fly around in happy little circles._

Honestly, I don't understand myself sometimes. But I was still amused. Of course it really only can last so long before it does get a little old.

Selca must have known I wasn't listening cause after a while I noticed she wasn't reading aloud anymore, but I didn't bother to say anything. It wasn't much longer after that when she decided it was time for us to get up and go back inside. The sun was setting, so I guess it was time for the day to start winding down.

We got up and left everything outside I guess with the knowledge that the servants were going to pick up after us. It was almost like when you have a maid in a hotel except that's exactly what it was. Room service every hour of the day here for these posh rich people.

"What now?" I asked as I walked along my new tag-along-lady. Selca pursed her lips a little, a sure sign that she thought I did something wrong then quickly straightened her face back out.

"It is time to prepare for supper." she told me coolly.

"Already? I thought we ate a while ago." I said surprised. We had hadn't we? We'd taken a bath from hell almost, then we'd had some lunch, then we'd sat around outside. It really hadn't been that much of a day.

"Our meal before was later than it should been as I have told you. You shall eat your supper on time. For that you must get ready." Selca said making sure to put in a little snottiness to her tone, so I would feel chastened or whatever.

_What_ever_ lady. Get off your high horse._ I resisted rolling my eyes because she had a habit of staring sideways at me. Probably trying to see if I _did_ roll my eyes at her. I wasn't going to give her the satisfaction of being right.

As we walked through the halls on the way to wherever we were going next, we saw a group of servants huddled up together, and they seemed to be panicking a bit. Neither Selca nor I said anything as we approached them, but we were got to them, Selca stepped up and drew herself up taller.

"What is the meaning of this? Standing around and gossiping while there is work to be done!" She said it angrily in a loud voice that wasn't really shouting, but the other servants knew she meant business. They all bowed their heads down and looked ashamed, but also still fidgety and nervous about whatever news they had.

"I am so sorry Lady Selca, but we have just learned the most disturbing news." one of the older women said. Selca pursed her lips again, but nodded her head slightly.

"And what is this news?" she asked sounding very regal for someone who was a servant herself.

"It is Lord Yareth! Someone has killed him!"

I stiffened up a little and said nothing. This was information I already knew, but now it looked like the rest Hutwaret knew as well.

Her words brought to mind the ugly, terrible images of the man's body laying on the floor soaked in his own blood, but I quickly pushed those away.

_What about General? What is he doing about all of this now?_ I wondered faintly.

Apparently Selca considered this news to stress and gossip over as well because that's just what she did with the rest of them. They tittered together over what they knew about the scandal, and I honestly only half listened being too caught up in my own thoughts of wondering and trying to forget, or at least trying to not remember.

Abruptly Selca must have remembered me because she straightened up and stopped gossiping. "Enough of this! Get back to your work! This matter does not concern you."

_Ouch. _I thought. She just got them pretty good. Meekly the other servants bowed to her and rushed off to do their work. Honestly though they would probably be back to gossiping in a few minutes. Selca gave me a look and started to walk with a somewhat faster pace, and I knew she wanted me to follow her along. We went along til we came back to my room. How nice, I wouldn't mind actually relaxing. Without her. But she didn't seem to be leaving. In fact, it seemed she had even _more_ stuff for me to do. Fabulous.

"You must prepare for supper." she said sniffing. I sighed and resisted the urge to just throw myself onto the bed and burrow under the covers to get away from her.

"But I'm not hungry. And besides, what is there for me to do in 'preparing for supper'?"

Selca looked shocked again, and then made that stupid tutting sound. I must have offended the poor thing again. She should stop being so easily offended.

"As you will be dining in high company you will need to be redressed, your face reapplied, and your hair needs attention."

I ignored when she said I would be dining in high company—I had a feeling I knew what she meant and _that_ would offend _me—_but I did feel somewhat offended when she mentioned all the things she would have to do with me. We just did all that this morning. I was not some great slob incapable of staying well-kept all day. Besides, if it was the company I was thinking it would be, then there was absolutely no need to try looking good. I might want to dress like a complete slob just to irritate him. And Selca. I wouldn't mind irritating Selca either.

But I was unable to get out of it. She had me change out of my dress—I had her turn around while I did so—and put on something just a little bit fancier from the chest that had been packed for me. Then my hair was pulled back and my face washed. Selca then very carefully put some makeup on me; not heavy and dramatic like Egyptian makeup, just some light kohl on my eyelids, some smoothing lotion on my skin and some sort of lip balm that didn't taste like much but felt very slick. Then my hair was brushed completely out and arranged in some sort of messy—but pretty messy—bun at the back of my head. Light jewelry was taken out of my pack and given to me to wear—a gold necklace, a gold bangle for each wrist and small gold discs earrings. I put on the old-timey sandals they wore here, and Selca then decided I was ready.

"Now you look presentable." Selca said with a self-satisfied smile. Like she was this great awesome thing for making poor little me look nice and presentable.

"Oh joy." I said not bothering to disguise the dry sarcasm in my voice. Selca sniffed and lifted her nose but didn't respond.

"Come, we must go." she said turning and leading me from the room. I rolled my eyes and followed her. I was surprised to see that the hallways were dark and the candles had been lit. So it was later than I thought it was.

Selca brought me to a room. She knocked on the door, then getting the okay from the person inside, she opened the door and bowed slightly motioning for me to go in. Obviously she was not eating with us, which was just fine with me. Hopefully after this I never had to spend the day in her presence again. I don't think I'd mind to much if I saw her for a while, but a whole day of her was much too much.

I walked into the room, the door closing behind me, and went to sit without bothering to say anything or look around at all. I plopped myself down onto the low to the floor couch-chair and looked at the food laid out in a large and artful display. Only after noticing all the food did I bother to look up at the person seated on a similar couch across from me.

General looked at me evenly, seeming just a little amused at my attempts to ignore him. And also at what he knew must have happened to me today.

"You bastard."

He chuckled. "Did you not enjoy the pampering treatment? I thought you wanted to be appreciated more?" he reached for a cup and started to drink what I'm assuming was wine.

I stopped for a minute, knowing I had wanted to be more appreciated, but I don't think I'd ever said that out loud. And certainly not to him if I had. After all, he was not the one I wanted to be appreciated by. I narrowed my eyes at him. "That had nothing to do with being appreciated. That was all about embarrassing the hell out of me!" I nearly shouted. He shrugged and put the wine down. He reached for a piece of fruit and began to eat it silently, watching me coolly.

I felt like fuming. I felt like throwing all the food at him. I felt like pushing him off that couch and landing him on his ass. Instead, I just huffed loudly and snatched my own piece of fruit. I settled myself so that my back was leaning against the low arm of the couch and turned away from the annoying person across from me.

"So the secret's out about Yareth. What you gonna do now?" I asked munching on the fruit and not looking at him.

"That's not something you really need to be concerned with." he told me evenly as he kept eating. I huffed again but fumed silently for the moment. But only that one moment.

"Of course I don't need to be concerned with it. I'm just a little girl after all. Nevermind that I was the one who found out some valuable information for you. Nevermind that you probably would have never found that information if it wasn't for me. But, it doesn't concern me, so nevermind."

In response to my rather childish and petty retort General just chuckled. "You seem so sure of yourself. Who says what you told me was of any use? Or that I hadn't had knowledge of it already?" he asked with his ever present irritating smirk.

I turned to glower at him. "You're bluffing. You didn't know that at all until I told you." to finish my statement I snatched up my own drink which was of course water. Like hell would I ever get drunk near this guy again.

"I will admit rhat I find it interesting that you were able to get this information." General said evenly. I looked at him. I was somewhat miffed that he hadn't gotten annoyed yet too. Usually he would get upset after a while, and we would be pissed at each other then have some kind of little spat, and then one of us would leave until the next time. This time however he was keeping his cool, and he even seemed a little amused. I wondered why. Somehow, he must be laughing at me, but I couldn't think of what I'd done that was so amusing to him recently. I thought most of my recent actions annoyed the mess out of him.

"Yeah well, I'm gifted like that. Wouldn't you like to know how I did it too." I said a little smug. He would never know, and not that I'd ever admit it cause the fact that I'd pretty much seduced the information out of an old pervert pretty much disgusted me, but I'd still done it right under General's nose, and he would never even know.

General's smirk grew, and he even looked smug now. But he said nothing in response. I looked at him curiously. Why didn't he ask? Didn't he want to know? It made me a little uncomfortable though, him looking at me like he had the advantage, so I looked away with a scowl.

"Stupid general." I muttered. He heard me though cause he chuckled at me.

"You had best hurry and eat. You will need to get plenty of rest. I believe Selca has a full day planned for you tomorrow."

"You bastard!" I did shout annoyed. Another day with Selca? The woman was going to sniff and tut, and 'prepare' me to death!

"Oh course, if you wish to stay in here tonight I am sure we could find a way to tire you out too much for her plans tomorrow." General said smoothly as he looked lifted up his glass and took another long drink. My eyes widened at his remark and the meaning in it. I looked shocked into his eyes which was almost all I could see over the rim of his cup. His strange and beautiful eyes.

I shook my head and glared at him with all the scorn I could muster. "Like hell!"

He chuckled again and that was pretty much the extent of the meal. We finished eating, all the while trading little barbs and making snippy comments at each other before he summoned a servant to show me back to my rooms.

As I got ready for bed, I realized that he hadn't ever said what he planned to do about Yareth, but I honestly hadn't expected him too. I also realized though, that this might have been the first time we'd spoken to each other when one of us, usually me, hadn't run off in a huff afterwards. We'd actually parted civilly. And the dinner had actually been...fun. Sure I wouldn't say we were becoming friends, but I guess I liked challenging him. Even if he did beat me usually. It was still an amusing game to play.

_Hm._ I thought tucking myself into bed. Until I fell asleep, I thought up ways to pull one over on General or otherwise get back at him. Afterall, one civil night non-withstanding, that was our real relationship.

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**haha poor Kiara, I'm not sure she's ever gonna figure out Ramses or just how to get her way around him. ;) Please review and let me know what you think**


	52. Expectations

**Ok, let me have it I know. It's been a long time. I seriously meant to have lots of chapters up, especially over the summer, but my laptop completely broke about twice since June which has majorly bummed me out. I therefore have written this chapter about 3 times, and it was a tough chapter to begin with, so adding college stress to all of this cause classes just got a hell of a lot harder...well you get the picture. But I am sorry for the long update time. Please let me know if anyone is still reading this, and thanks a bunch if you are!**

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**52: Expectations**

I woke the next morning earlier than usual after a restless night of not good sleep. I laid in the bed, curled up in the blankets and pillows and just stared at the ceiling waiting for the sun to rise. My heart-rate was slowly coming back to a normal pattern, and I was losing that prickly cold sensation that always comes after a long drawn-out nightmare.

I sighed. This was why I usually preferred to either work late only going the bed when I was too tired to dream well, or I slept with my earphones in and my music blasting loudly in my ears. I hadn't wanted to use my MP3 player here because I didn't think people would respond to it well, and they had already demonstrated that they were willing to come into my room at any time and surprise me, and apparently I hadn't been tired enough not to dream.

The dream of course, was not a surprise; it mainly centered around the murder. While I managed to try avoiding thinking about it while I was awake and moving around, my nightmare made it obvious that the grisly scene I had witnessed had more of an effect on me than I had realized.

I waited calmly. I'm pretty sure Selca would be here soon to order me around and act like she was the boss even though I was supposedly the Lady here. I didn't really dislike this woman, but I didn't have much patience for her. Quite frankly though, my night had made me more tired than I was the day before and I wasn't sure what to do now. Just go along with what I was supposed to do I suppose.

I frowned lightly. Since when am I known for doing what I'm supposed to do?

I didn't have much more time to process that however. Selca arrived, knocking insistently on my door, and then not waiting for a response, she came right in with another servant behind her.

"What a surprise my lady, to see you already awake." Selca said with a sniff. I just looked at her. She was already sniffing again. I hated that. "Well since you are awake, that will make things much easier. I intend that you begin your day much earlier than you did yesterday." Selca said again as she turned away with a sniff.

I thought of a quick retort that I was sure would make the woman speechless, but decided to hold it in. In that moment, I decided that I would be completely good today, and then maybe she would leave me alone, and I could regain some of my inner-peace.

So, with no words of annoyance spoken, and a blank cool look on my face, I followed Selca as she ordered me around. We had a repeat of the bath from hell, a small light breakfast, and small walk around the manor and gardens, and then we reclined in the shade and read from scrolls.

Well, no. I looked at the hieroglyphs on the scrolls and made up stories for them to try and entertain myself. Selca would read, look up at me, make some comment, sniff, then go back to reading. She did this often, and it was really pissing me off.

_So this bird is going to this person here and saying, 'hey you, I want that corn you have there' and the person is like 'naw man, I'm friends with this king here, and he's going use this knife thing on you' and then the bird is gone so it must have run away, and now there's more knife things cause obviously the king is scared the bird is gonna get some bird friends and flock back and start a war and—_

"You are smiling? I wonder what it is you find amusing in that scroll of ancient philosophies." Selca pondered aloud with a sniff. I stopped, and closed my eyes for a moment. I hadn't even been aware that I had been smiling at my stupid story. I was just trying to cheer myself up over here. Why the hell did this woman find it so necessary to try and berate me?

"I suppose I just find it all very interesting." I said coolly while trying to keep calm. Honestly, with the past few days and this woman's attitude, I was beginning to feel a little like a volcano. As in, give me enough of a shake right now, and I will blow up.

_Right? Shakes, earthquakes can sometimes lead to volcanic eruptions? Hmm. Shaken, not stirred. Ha._

Selca raised a brow at me and sniffed again.

I don't know why it was that sniff that did it, but for whatever reason that was the straw that broke the camel's back. I'd had it for the day. I was done with this, and long past giving a crap.

I smiled back at the woman with a calm clear face. Then I carefully put the scroll down and stood up with all the ease and grace I had. Then I turned and bowed very slightly to her. "If you'll excuse me, I have remembered something I would like to get from my rooms. I will be back shortly." I said all soft and sweet, every inch the court-woman Selca seemed so certain I could never be. _Please_. I could play this role, or any other, a million times better than she could.

Selca seemed surprised, but she quickly recovered and sniffed again. "You should send someone to fetch it for you. A proper lady would not go running off for every errand she has."

I nodded my head, still smiling. "Of course I understand, but I think the walk would do me some good. I will return soon." With that, I turned and left before she had the chance to say something else to me, and before I had the chance to snatch the scroll from her hands and hit her repeatedly on the head with it.

So I walked away from the garden, knowing that Selca was watching me, probably with a shocked look on her face and a sniff waiting to happen. This wasn't what she was expecting from me after all. Probably not what anyone was really expecting of me.

General was probably being all diplomatic today. He was probably talking down to people in some snotty, aloof way and sending servants here and there to do whatever he wanted. He was probably trying to pin down whoever murdered Yareth. He was probably keeping up the appearance that he was this awesome, great noble with untold battle-skill and unheard of charm.

And he was probably _expecting_ that I was a good girl today like I had been yesterday.

Selca, was probably _expecting_ me to wander off and take forever coming back to the garden, maybe even get lost and then she would have had to come find me and tell me all about how proper ladies never get lost. She was probably thinking that she was going to continue having a long hard day of trying to deal with me.

Too bad I was disappointing the both of them today. Not that I felt sorry about it of course. But in fact, I wasn't even in the mansion anymore. Once I had gotten away from Selca, I had raced back to my rooms, put on a plain dress, grabbed my big shawl, escaped through the window and then snuck out the servants' entrance. Again. I know I know. It was incredibly stupid of me. But I hadn't slept well, and I was tired of all the bullshit that woman was handing me today, and I was really in no mood to just sit and take that. So what did I decide to do? Well obviously not sit around and do what was expected of me. Nope, I did the stupid thing and snuck out like a teenager who was mad at her parents' restrictive rules.

But it's not like I was being _completely_ irresponsible. I'd brought along the coins that I'd earned as a dancer, and my Swiss army knife too. Both were in a small pouch that I tied to a sash around my waist. The bag wasn't heavy, and my shawl was big and long enough that I wrapped around and covered the bag so that it wouldn't be seen by others on the street and no one would know it was there to try and take it from me. Which was good because I don't know what would have happened if someone discovered the knife which was very obviously not made around here. Would they try to replicate it? That would seriously alter history. Unless the replications became lost and forgotten. It would probably still end up showing up in archaeological digs which would again probably be not good. Or would it? In any event, I'd rather keep my knife.

Also, to add to my not being as stupid, I had a clear plan in mind. I wasn't going to just wander around the city, I was going to visit Kel. That wasn't so bad. It was good even. He didn't seem to be the type given to adventures anymore, so I probably wouldn't get into any trouble with him, but I'm sure that he has lots of stories to tell, and we could always have a Senet rematch.

So you see? I wasn't really being as bad or stupid as I could have been. But then again, the day is young.

I made it to Kel's easily, the hardest part being that there was actually a fair bit of noon traffic. Still, with no incident and completely unnoticed, I slipped into Kel's little garden.

Kel stood with his back to me, but as I stepped farther in, making no effort of stealth, he turned to see me. His eyes narrowed slightly at first, then his face smoothed out and he nodded.

"I figured you would be coming back here at some point." he said gruffly.

I smiled and reached up to take the shawl off. I shook my head a bit to loosen up my hair then moved even closer to the older man. "Well I wasn't going to stay in that boring mansion forever." I joked lightly. Kel nodded again then moved off toward the house.

"I do not imagine that those people up there fed you well." he said stepping inside his house. Still smiling I skipped in after him. "It wasn't too bad, but they've not made the rest of the day easy to deal with. So I decided it was time to sneak out for the day."

"Probably was not too hard in that place. Security around here is terribly lax. Although now that one of those fools got himself killed, maybe things will tighten up a bit. At least for a while." Kel said gruffly.

I refrained from saying anything about the fool who got himself killed, even if I had been at the murder scene. It really was none of my business. And I had no wish to talk details about it. I had already relived it again and again last night in my dreams.

"Well, eat something I cannot have you fainting on me. That is not how I plan for my day to progress." Kel said as he set some food on the little table in this small room that seemed like a nice, tidy little kitchen. I was kinda nervous to be in here, it was a kitchen after all, but I figure as long as I just sat at this little table in the middle of the room, nothing bad should happen. Besides I feel like Kel wouldn't allow anything to happen. Like if a spoon so much as fell onto the floor in the wrong way—if there is a wrong way—then very bad things might happen as a consequence. I dunno, is it possible to ground, or disown a spoon if it does something wrong? Can I possibly be a normal, sane person if these are the types of questions I have running through my head? I think not.

The food was simple, even more simple than the simple breakfast at the mansion, and I put that on the fact that Kel hardly seems to the type to be fancy or ceremonious about anything. There was warm bread, and honey, and water. It sounds like tough rations, but it was actually very delicious. The honey was in fact, some of the best I think I've ever tasted.

We ate together in silence. Kel stared some what moodily at the wall, and I looked around the room with interest. All very neat and clean. Everything in its place and a place for everything. Nothing extra or unneeded anywhere, and just about no decorations.

"So what can you tell me about General?" I asked wiping the crumbs off my hands. Kel turned to look at me and seemed to take a moment to think about my question.

"Many things. What is it you are asking?" he answered somewhat guardedly.

I grinned. "I wanna know how to get to him. To really get under his skin and piss him off."

Kel raised an eyebrow and seemed surprised for a moment, and possibly a little surprised and maybe even confused by my language; I should probably make an effort to keep the slang to a minimum.

"Hm. I would have thought you would want to know how to gain his attentions." Kel said after a moment.

I grimaced and made an awful, very unattractive face. "No. I would very much like to lose his attention. I want to make him suffer. To show him just how much of an ass I think he really is."

Kel chuckled. "I see he has made an enemy out of you. It's never smart to make an enemy out of a woman. They are tricky creatures, and it is a hard thing to fight back against them. You cannot just knock them back into place after all." he picked up the dishes and still chuckling lightly started to put everything away.

I grinned too. "I'm very tricky, and I think his ego needs to come down, a lot. He deserves a few knocks of his own."

"Ah the man. He's always making an enemy to someone, and often times it is a lady. Usually though she changes her mind and tries to win him back again." Kel raised an eyebrow at me again as if to ask if I would change my mind and try to re-win General over.

"No no no. The idea makes me gag. I'm not some girl he chased and tossed aside and now wants revenge for her foolish lost love, I want to get back at him for his thinking that he's the king of the world and has every right to do whatever he pleases. I'm so tired of him pushing me around, and then turning on the charm to get everything he wants from everyone." I insisted crossly. There. I'd finally told someone out loud just what I think of that pig-headed jerk.

Kel looked at me for a moment silently. Then he gave just a small jerk of his head in a nod.

"That's right. Pushing people around to get their way, when they don't deserve a thing. It is not right. Should stop it somehow." he muttered loudly as he continued putting things away.

"Exactly. I mean, I don't think I ever did anything to him, why can't he just leave me alone to live in peace?" I crossed my arms and leaned forward onto the table.

"Yes, they should all just stop and leave the rest of us alone. We do not need their meddling." Kel said gripping the pot he was cleaning very hard.

I sat up straight and got a little alarmed. His attitude had just gotten darker, a lot darker. And I really didn't like the sound of what he was saying. "No no, that's not what I meant. I just meant he can't keep treating _me_ the way he does. I don't think he actually bothers other people, ass that he is."

"They are all the same. If it is not you, then it is your neighbors and your friends." Kel continued to mutter unhappily. I was really becoming alarmed now. What was he talking about? Why was he talking like this?

Wait a minute. Hadn't General mentioned something about Kel before? What had he said? That Kel was too extreme in his opinion on nobles? How had I forgotten that? Kel certainly sounded extreme now. And extreme in politics was usually a bad thing as it often led to conspiracy, and bad things. Like falling buildings and murder.

"Um, actually General seems to be pretty good at his job. I've only heard good things about him from other people, and he seems to do well. And the Mayor seems well liked too—just maybe a little slow on things." I said trying to backtrack out of this topic. It seemed I had said the wrong things however.

"The people do not know what is good for them! They follow blindly and are led by the greedy fools who own them!" Kel said more forcefully and he slammed a jug back into its place.

I opened my mouth to try and calm him down some more, but then I looked into his eyes. His eyes had this faraway, unseeing look to them, and the thing was, I don't think he was talking to me. I wasn't even sure he was really paying attention to the fact that I was even there. It was like he'd absorbed himself in his little world of conspiracy and injustice, and he was blind to any voice let alone mine.

"Kel? Hey solider you're getting yourself lost over there." I stood up trying to get his attention. He ignored me, or rather didn't notice me and continued to mutter darkly to himself.

"Hey Kel, let's play Senet huh? Shall I bet you again?" I tried to be highly cheerful.

"Lies and deceit from them all! Not caring who they hurt!" Kel slammed his fist down on the table.

"Kel! Snap out of it!" I shouted back at him. He looked at me finally, but his eyes were burning with fire and some old pain inside. "They forever hurt and never understand." he said more quietly.

I bit my lip. "Kel, I think you need to calm down." I said softly standing in front of him. He looked directly into my eyes and just stared. I didn't like the way his eyes were. He seemed haunted. I had the sudden idea that maybe he wasn't well. Like perhaps, because of his older age and stressful job, maybe his mental health wasn't the greatest. "Kel, are you alright?" I asked gently.

He moved slowly, his hand came up and moved some of my hair from my face to behind my ears. "So much like my Deliha. My sweet girl." he murmured. Then he turned away sharply. "For my Deliha I won't forgive them. For my girl, for you." his voice got darker again and he glanced at me, but I don't think he saw me. He was seeing Deliha now, and thinking of what had happened to her, and what justice he wanted to see because of it.

"Kel," I tried to speak to him, but he was muttering to himself now. I felt bad for coming now. This was certainly not what I had wanted to happen.

_Why didn't General tell me about this? Why didn't he say that Kel…that he wasn't stable?_ I thought a little angry. General had only mentioned in passing that something might be off with Kel, he'd never made it seem as serious as it obviously was. _I wouldn't have come if I'd thought it would hurt him._

_ Maybe General didn't know. Kel was fine yesterday, and they obviously hadn't seen each other in a while. Kel is really all that old so it's not something you would expect either._

I looked sadly at Kel for a minute, unsure of what to do. But I was pretty sure that I couldn't stand here, letting him think I was Deliha and getting him all upset and ready to do something upsetting. Slowly, I pulled my shawl on over my hair, and backed out of the room. Kel didn't notice. So I turned and blinking rapidly, I left the house.

I got out onto the street again and took a deep breath. Well. That was not what I had wanted to happen. At all. I really, really hoped that I hadn't caused any irreparable harm, or really inspired Kel to do anything that would end up hurting him. I had thought that going to see Kel would cheer me up, but instead I seemed to have brought back old pain and memories that were better left forgotten. Not only that, but then I had just walked out and left him. But what else could I do? My being there was not helpful. I had no idea about phycology or anything like that; I couldn't help the poor man.

I sighed again and started walking, thinking slowly. I understood some of what Kel meant about how self-concerned and heartless many nobles could be. Well, actually I guess I just knew what politicians and rich people from my time where like. But they were bound to be the same in this time right? Yes, I nodded. Everything I had seen of people here was pretty much the same as what I'd seen in my time. Some people were good, some were not, but somehow people born into, or given money and power had a bigger chance of being pricks. Call it peer-pressure or whatever, it just seemed to happen.

I continued walking through the streets of town, not ready to go back to the mansion and honestly just walking without a clue in the world as to what I should be doing. I came to find myself in the small market area. It was more rundown, and I guessed that at some point, without noticing, I had exited the rich neighborhood and entered into the common people areas.

I looked around with some interest, but not much energy. I was pretty well emotionally drained at the moment. I really couldn't think of the last time I'd had a really good pick-me-up. It must be the lack of caffeine and chocolate. I was going through withdraws or something.

The market area I was in wasn't too terribly active; the sun was high up in the sky at the moment making the world and sand very hot. With no cloud cover and no moisture in the air, it made sense that the market area seemed to have cleared out some. People had retreated indoors if they could to avoid the strong afternoon sun. Nevertheless, the market looked like it wasn't too bad off; there was some good stuff for sell and enough people shopping for it to be a steady stream of business.

I stood off to the side for a moment trying to decide if I wanted to buy anything or not. I wasn't hungry, but I was just hanging around a shopping market. What else should I do but shop? Maybe just keep walking. After all, even if I did buy anything what would I do with it? Oh I really loved the idea of having a souvenir from ancient Egypt with me, but I wasn't sure that would be such a good idea. What if after I got back, someone found it? Or maybe I was just thinking too much and should just go ahead and get myself a small cat statue or something. I loved cats. And this is Egypt; there should be plenty of cat statues around here somewhere.

That's when I looked over and noticed someone else who like me, was just standing nearby and not buying anything.

It was a little girl. She wore a dress that was no longer the pure white color it had probably once been, and was patched and worn through in places. Her hair was cut short and uneven and looked messy like it hadn't been washed properly for a while. She stood not too far from a food seller's cart and she stared at the food with a hungry, sad look in her eyes.

The girl looked too skinny to me, and the look in her eyes hurt my heart. No child should ever have to look that hungry and lost.

I walked over to the food cart and swiftly bought a small roll of bread and 2 pieces of some kind of good looking fruit. I paid with some of the money I had gotten as a 'dancer' the other night. Distractedly I realized that I didn't know how money here worked and was glad that the merchant took the coin I handed him without any comment.

Now with the food in hand, I walked over to where the little girl stood. She was watching the food in my hands with a child's simple hungry longing, but her eyes widened and she looked at me in shock when I knelt down in front of her and held out the bread.

I didn't say anything, I just smiled softly and continued to hold the bread and fruit. She continued to stare silently back at me for a few minutes before she very slowly and carefully reached out and took the bread from me. She stood there in front of me, just staring and holding the bread close to herself for moment. Then, without a word, she turned and raced away from me, running as fast as she could possibly afraid that I would come after her and demand the food back or payment for it.

I stayed kneeling on the ground for a moment as I watched her go. Once I'd given her the bread I'd thought that maybe I would feel a little better, a little more at peace with the word, but I really didn't. I knew that the little girl would be hungry again soon. And what must she have seen or heard or had happened to her that she seemed so afraid and wary of the kindness of a stranger? And an even worse thought, was that there were probably plenty of children in this town in just the same sad situation as that poor little girl. General had mentioned something about a famine at one point right? How many children were suffering right now with no one to help them.

I stood up and looked around a bit. The market seemed to continue on; no one else looked overly worried or upset. Why was I so upset? It's not like this was a new thing to me. None of this was. Murder? Political intrigue? World hunger? There was nothing that I had come across in this time that I hadn't come across in my own. So why all of a sudden was I so depressed by it?

_Because,_ my mind in its weird jumping and sometimes insightful way answered me. _In this time frame you're just a nobody again. And there's nothing you can do to stop any of it._

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__**No need to tell me this chapter's kind of lame, I am well aware. but once i get all this stuff out of the way, the cool stuff which is my reason for writing this fanfic will come up; eventually. soon. i hope. but yes, it will bet getting good with the next few chapters, but no promise as to when I'll have those chapters posted. sorry guys!**


	53. A Difference

**So, yes. It is I! Long gone writer of a fanfic that is dragging forever on! This time a good 6 months since my last update. But I've done longer right? Ok, I've got more A/N to say at the end, but go ahead and read this chapter that people have been waiting for.**

**AND THANK EVERYONE OF YOU WHO BOTHERS TO WAIT FOR IT! SERIOUSLY GUYS I DON'T DESERVE IT AND I DON'T KNOW HOW TO REALLY MAKE IT UP TO YOU! Y'ALL ARE AWESOME. And my reviewers, I love you I do. Please don't stop encouraging me, you guys are pretty much the reasons I try to make myself speed up this process at all. Please tell me if you want me to continue to respond to your reviews here in the chapters, or if you'd like me to PM respond cause I love you all and would love to answer any questions and submit myself to any verbal abuses that I deserve. But only deserved abuses of course.**

**7/6/2013**

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**53: A Difference**

I walked along, holding two pieces of fruit in my hand. I wasn't hungry, and truthfully I wasn't sure how to eat these things. Was the skin edible? Did you have to peel them? Did they even taste good? Why couldn't Egypt just have normal fruit? Like oranges? But then, I didn't like oranges anyway. Not that I'd even gotten this food for myself. But oranges were really good for you. Maybe they should import them. Where did oranges even originate from? I don't think it was Florida.

Anyway, it was time to stop rambling about oranges in my head and think of something to do. I couldn't just keep walking around the market and surrounding streets like I was. That was a sure way to get into trouble. Looking like you're lost or have nothing to do is a good way to get you mugged or dragged off. Always look like you're paying attention and have some place to be and things to do.

As I looked around, still somewhat distractedly, I noticed two young boys crouching in the entrance of an alleyway. They were peeking around the corner, where there was another food cart. They too looked skinny and hungry, but what really caught my attention was the look of mischief and trouble in their slight smirks.

I grinned to myself and acknowledged that in the back of my mind, I had hoped that I would come across more kids to give this food too. Of course, these kids looked like a little more fun.

The boys' had their backs to me, and very quietly, I snuck up behind them. I stood just behind the boys, and mimicked their positions, leaning out and peeking around the corner.

"What are we looking at?"

The boys jumped at the sound of my whisper and ended up smacking into each other. I tried hard not to smile, but I don't think I succeeded very well. They boys turned quickly to look at me in surprise. "Who are you?" one of them asked wide-eyed.

I stood up, putting my hands on my hips and grinned at them. "I'm Kiara. Can I ask who you trouble-makers are?"

"We have done nothing wrong." the other boy said glaring at me. I took a moment to look at them.

I figured they were probably brothers, as they looked pretty similar, but it was their eyes that were dead give-away. They both had the exact same honey colored, almond shaped eyes. The one who was currently glaring at me was taller, and probably the older one of the two, but I don't think they could have been more than 10 or 11.

"Oh but don't even try to tell me you weren't going to." I said raising a brow at the boy. He didn't answer; he just kept glaring at me. The other boy shuffled around on his feet seeming nervous.

"And just so you two don't go causing any other trouble, take these." I said still grinning but speaking a little more softly as I held out the pieces of fruit.

The boys just stared at me wide-eyed. Then the older one quickly snatched both fruits from me, and handed one to his brother before biting into his own with hungry abandon. The younger brother looked at the food that was now in his hands, then at his brother, then back to me. He watched me carefully, as he slowly raised the food to his mouth, and took a bite, but after that first taste, he was eating just as quickly as his brother.

They both devoured their food pretty quickly, and then they looked back at me with sticky hands and faces, and wary looks. The older one stepped forward and crossed his arms glaring at me.

"So what is it you want?" he demanded.

I raised an eyebrow at him. For some reason, I was reminded of General. I'm not sure why, but this little kid just standing here, challenging me like this, made me think of that arrogant pig. Hopefully, that wasn't a sign about how this kid was going to grow up. Oh, like I would let that happen.

I reached out, and slapped the kid on the back of his head.

Startled, he jumped back, putting a hand on the 'injured' area and looked at me shocked. I put my hands on my hips and looked down with a scowl.

"What kind of 'thank you' is that? Don't I get any gratitude?" I asked with a raised brow. Both of the boys just stared at me in shock. "Now, we're going to try this again. Let's see if you boys can come up with the proper response this time, huh?" And then I marched off around the corner, to the vendor they had been about to steal from.

I bought some more food, and gave the vendor a big smile as I thanked him and headed back to where the kids were. I felt a little weirdly smug and snickered as I thought about how I had saved the poor vendor from being robbed by two small boys, and was now buying food for those boys to eat. There was a weird symmetry to it, I thought. Or maybe just an irony.

The boys were still staring wide-eyed when I came back, with more food for them. I figured they almost expected me to have handed them in and told someone about what they were planning to do. But luckily for them and me, I hadn't done that, and they were still here to take the food I had bought for them. Much more graciously this time, I might add.

I felt much better, having gotten these kids some real food to eat. Not only that, but they hadn't run off scared of me afterwards. For whatever reason they had stayed, like I told them too. The small bit of hope they had that I would be good to them, made me feel better. Hope is a good thing to have, no matter how bad things seem. And I was glad to see that these kids still had it.

"So, where do you guys live?" I asked after they had finished eating. They looked at each other for a minute, and again I got the sense that they were very close by the fact that they seemed to know just what the other was thinking without saying a word out loud. Finally, the older boy shrugged a little carelessly and turned his head to look away almost as if he were bored now. The younger boy looked back at me with curiosity burning in his eyes.

"We live in an orphanage closer to the river. Why do you want to know?" he answered my question and asked his own.

"Because I want you to take me there." I said smiling at him. The kid looked like he had almost expected that answer, and he turned back to his brother who looked back at him again. They had their little silent communication, before the older shrugged, and then turned and began to walk away. I frowned when he moved off, and opened my mouth to call him back, but stopped suddenly when I felt a warm pressure in my hand. I looked down, and the other boy had taken my hand in his and began to lead me somewhere. It was not the same direction that his brother had gone in, but I knew that he was taking me to the orphanage like I had asked.

"Wait, there's some things I want to get first." I said with a laugh as I pulled the boy back over to the market.

It was sometime mid-afternoon when I found myself wandering into a little open yard that was surrounded by small, beat-down looking houses. The younger brother, whose name was Seuku, stopped walking slowly beside me as he had been previously and ran ahead shouting out.

"Raku! Raku, she has brought more food!" he proclaimed. His older brother stood leaning against one of the house walls, but he straightened up once he heard and saw his younger sibling running towards him. I smiled when I saw not only the older boy going to greet Seuku, but when other children emerged from the buildings and came out as well. I had figured that the older brother had gone by a short-cut back to their home to warn the others about my arrival, and it looked like I was right. But whatever the boy had told them about my coming, they were certainly happy to see me. They were also very happy to see the basket of food in my arms, and the similar basket that Seuku was carrying.

There were about 30 children who came out of the houses. They crowded around the two brothers talking excitedly, gesturing at the baskets and at me as I continued to slowly approach. I saw an older woman also exit one of the old houses. She wore a shawl around her head as I did, and the lines and wrinkles on her face bespoke her older age. But she still seemed able enough as she ambled through the children to stand beside Seuku. And she seemed kind enough as she patted the children on the head as she passed and smiled at them with warm brown eyes.

I waited a little on the edge of the group, not wanting to crowd them or make them uncomfortable with my presence since I was a complete stranger to them. It seemed that my caution was unnecessary though, since after a moment of more jabbering among themselves, both of the brothers separated from the group of excited children and came to stand beside me. Seuku, reached up with one hand—the other was still clutching the basket of food we'd gotten—and grabbed a hold of my hand.

"This is Lady Kiara, and she has brought food for us!" he said to the other children. The others got even more excited and crowded around me now.

"Be careful however. She is a mean woman who will hit you." Raku said with a sidewise glance at me. He kept his arms crossed over his chest which was puffed out with all the arrogance of an older child among his younger peers.

I scoffed at his words and reached out and slapped him upside the back of his head again. "I only discipline those children who need it. And who need to learn better manners." I scolded lightly, but I kept my smile. Raku scowled at me and rubbed his head, but I saw the smallest amount of a blush on his cheeks.

The older woman smiled and moved forward. She reached out and clasped my hand in between both of hers. "You are most welcome here, Lady Kiara. The children and I are very grateful for what you have brought us. If there is any way we can repay you, please do not hesitate to ask."

I smiled even more. "Well, I guess you can help me hand out the food to these youngsters." At which the woman beamed even brighter, and the children all cheered.

I spent hours there with the kids. After the food was handed out, all the children wanted to show me all around the place they called home. So I ended up on a tour that showed me the all the places these kids ate, slept, and played. To say that it was depressing was a little of an understatement. It was only made more clear to me how little these kids had, and what was worse, was that they were so proud of these few things; which meant that they obviously thought they had it fairly well. So while I was inwardly cringing over the holes in the walls, the dirt encased floors, thin and threadbare blankets, and the overall rundown appearance of everything, I had to smile and show the proper awe that these kids were all looking for from me.

After the little tour, I wanted to do nothing more than find a way to ease these kids' hearts for a little while. So I settled for the old fallback. Play-time.

There wasn't much in the way of toys or anything to play with, but you don't grow up in the country and not learn how to play without toys. I taught the kids all the normal games: tag, freeze tag, Mother-May-I?, Red Rover, and then we took a few scraps of fabric and played capture the flag. After all that, the kids were well tired, but happy. I sat in the little court yard area, with one little boy in my lap, and all the other kids sitting around me. They were all talking enthusiastically to each other, and occasionally to me and I tried to hear and respond to them all. Raku and Seuku were here as well. Raku was on the outer edges looking like he was having fun, but considered himself too mature to admit it. Seuku was sitting by his brother, but he was participating much more and talking with the other kids. Raku looked at me then, and caught me staring at him and his brother. He lifted his chin up again, but this time he didn't frown at me. This time, we continued the lock gazes until I winked at him, and with a smirk, he finally looked away first.

"Lady Kiara! Lady Kiara!" one of the younger girls called from near the center of the group. "Lady Kiara, do you know any of the stories of the gods? Can you tell us one?"

Now all of the children were looking at me expectantly, and I felt a flush rise to my face. I didn't know any of the old stories. Well, I mean, I knew some things. General and mentioned some stories, and I vaguely remembered hearing some Egyptian myths back when I was younger. But there was no way I knew enough about anything to tell these kids a story and have them believe it, or think it was right. I'd probably accidentally throw in something that came from Harry Potter or something. Not to say that those weren't awesome books, but I don't think they fit the story here.

"I'm sorry kids, I don't really know any of the old stories." I said with a small smile. The kids looked surprised.

"You do not know the legends? Did your mother not tell them to you?" one of the boys spoke up.

"Um, no. She didn't, and neither did my father." I replied not bothering to inform them that my mother had died when I was far too young to have listened to her tell me anything.

"They did not? How odd!" the kids all seemed shocked and I started to inwardly panic. Were these kids all taught old myths and legends from their youth and expected to believe and remember them throughout their lives?

_Well duh. Old civilizations like this; their stories and pasts are everything to them. That's why some of those legends got preserved enough that we know them. _I scolded myself. Great, now how was I going to get out of this one?

"Lady Kiara where are you from that you do not know the legends?" Raku asked sharply from the group's edge. I found myself flushing even more. I was turning tomato-red again probably. The kid was smart; he'd cut right to the problem. I was definitely _not_ from around here.

"I'm from a place far, far away from here. So I'm sorry that I don't know the stories." I said hoping that that answer would satisfy them. But of course not.

"Where are you from Lady Kiara?"

"What is it like where you are from?"

"Do they have legends there?"

"Why are you here?"

That last question was asked by Raku. Once those words had been spoken, everyone else became very quiet. Raku stared at me, suspicion and curiosity in his eyes.

The question, may have seemed simple, but not the way he asked it. And not in the truth it represented for me.

_Why was I here?_

This was the question I had asked myself, often, every day since I got to this time. Because I hadn't just taken a trip to a different land as these kids might assume. I had been dragged through time and places that I never knew, and should have never known. I hadn't done this to myself I was sure. So _why_, why was I here? What purpose could there be in my being here. A place I did not know, and was helpless in.

I stared at Raku, and he stared back at me and the children surrounding us looked back and forth between the two of us in silence. They probably did not understand the importance of this question, but they seemed to follow Raku's lead and they could feel the tension he was giving off now.

"I," I started to say something then stopped. This kid was damn smart, and perceptive. And even though I really didn't know how to answer this question, I couldn't, I wouldn't just bullshit some answer to get out of it.

"I am here, because I need to be. Because I was brought here. And I'm here to help."

As I said the words to him, I saw the truth in them myself. I may not know what had brought me here, or why. But I _had_ to believe that there was a reason for it. There _had_ to be a _reason_ for all this to be happening to me. This couldn't have just happened to me. Whatever fate, or destiny or _god_ had done this to me, it had to mean _something_.

And while I may not know what I was _supposed_ to be doing here, I knew what I would be trying to do. What I had been trying to do, and would continue trying to do until the day this all ended and I was back where I belonged. I would try to help. I would help these kids, just like I'd helped the people in Byblos. Just like I'd helped the sailors who were drowning. Just like I helped protect the castle during the fight. Just like I'd helped take care of and protect the crown prince. I may not do a very good job, and I may not be nearly enough, but I would try to help, as best as I could for as long as I could. And for me, that had to be enough of a reason to be here.

Raku stared at me, and then I saw his eyes flicker over me, so quickly that I wasn't sure it had happened but his gaze had lingered on the shawl around my head. Then, ever so slightly, he nodded and turned away.

Instantly the tension cleared, and I let out a big breath I didn't know I had been holding once all the children struck up their conversations again.

So, I'd discovered a purpose to follow and made a promise to do so. Now I'll just have to keep it.

When he found the girl he was going to have her whipped.

Selca had come to him early in the day and told him that Kiara had disappeared from the mansion. He'd dealt with the woman, making it seem both as if he hardly cared about Kiara's disappearance, but yet that he was displeased with Selca's inability to keep her in check. He had had to spend the rest of his day, finishing his business—which was taxing enough with all the scandal in intrigue going on—while worrying about what that girl might be doing out on her own. Suppose she started another party? Suppose she started a riot? Suppose some of the trouble that seemed to follow her around happened and yet another disaster befell the poor town and people around her.

He sighed. That idea was harsh he knew. The woman did nothing to attract the trouble on purpose, but he had noticed the obvious coincidences that every major bad thing that had happened lately had happened in Kiara's presence.

Which perhaps could be another thing she had in common with the Hittite queen. Ramses sighed at that thought too.

Once he'd finished his business for the day, he had left the mansion on his own—no small task to accomplish either, convincing his guards and the mansion people that he did not need them for a night—to go look for the troublesome woman. Naturally the first place he'd looked was with Kel. Kiara and the old military man had seemed to have gotten on well when they first met, and Ramses assumed she would go back that way. It turned out that he was correct. Kel said he had seen her earlier that day, but that she had left after a short visit. He didn't seem to know where she'd gone, or what she planned to do for the day. In fact he seemed fairly uninformed about the whole visit in general, which left Ramses to believe that the visit did not go well.

After he'd left Kel's house, he really wasn't sure where to look for her, but he doubted she'd have gone back to the mansion. It wasn't dark out, and there was nothing scheduled to happen in town. But apparently, the woman didn't need something to be planned for her to start something. So, he wandered through the town's streets and common areas. He tried to stay inconspicuous and out of sight as much as possible. No need to start more rumors and questions than there already were.

And based on the reports he'd gotten that morning, there were plenty of _rumors_.

In truth, it was luck when he finally found the woman. He'd thought to check around the taverns and places where there were would be music and dancing, but she hadn't been in those places, and he'd doubted she would be. Dancer though she may be, she obviously was not the type of woman to go through the taverns and bars with the other, much less innocent, women. Upon further reflection of the woman, he decided to check the orphanages in the area. The woman had seemed to have an affinity with the young Hittite prince, and with the other children she had come across.

After a bit of searching through back roads and such, he finally found the correct orphanage. He knew he had found her before he could even see her, because he heard her voice. And not shrill with anger or giddiness like he had so often her. No, it was her voice as he'd only heard it a few rare times. Soft, sweet, and absolutely beautiful in its depth.

Ramses brought his horse around the corner and saw Kiara sitting on the ground, a child in her lap and many more spread out around her. They were all listening with rapt attention and awe to her as she sang to them.

"Somewhere, over the rainbow, skies are blue. And the dreams, that you dare to dream, really do come true."

The song was strange to him, but its melody was haunting and its words uplifting. The children seemed enchanted by it, and he could see why. Kiara sat there surrounded by the children, with the fading light shining down on her. Her shawl was now around her shoulders, and her distinctive brown hair was flowing down around her face in soft looking waves. But more than the lighting and her strange yet beautiful hair, was the way her eyes were lit up. It was the same as that day on the boat into Egypt. Her eyes and smile were soft, but they seemed to shine out from within her. There was so much warmth and care around her, like it flowed out from within her soul.

Ramses shifted on his horse's back as he watched her. He had thought it to himself before even if it was reluctantly, but she was beautiful—in a way. He had meant to find her, and drag her back to the manor and find some way to punish her, but…

He turned his horse back and moved away from the open yard. He would let her be for now. It was going to be dark, and he knew she would be leaving to return soon enough. He could intercept her and yell at her then. For now, he would let her stay with the children and let them enjoy her company.

I pulled my shawl back into a hood and headed back through the alleys toward the manor. It was later than I had realized, and the sky had gotten completely dark and the air much colder. I had been too caught up helping with the children to realize how late it was, and now I was practically alone on the streets. Which was a little disconcerting, but hey, I'm a big girl. I could take care of myself just fine.

And it had been worth it. After singing "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" to the kids—really, what could I sing them? Rap music? Michael Jackson? I don't think so—the kids had actually helped me learn some of their songs, and told me some of their stories. To say it was fascinating is a grotesque understatement. It was pretty darn awesome to learn those old songs and stories, and it wasn't until I could no longer clearly see the children on the edge of the group that I realized how long it had been and how late it was. I'd brought all the children into their house then and the woman who cared for them had already had dinner waiting. She'd tried to offer me some food and although I was hungry, I didn't want to take any of their food away. Instead I'd politely declined the offer and while the children were distracted with their dinner, I'd pressed the remainder of my money into the woman's hand and told her to use it for the kids. Then I'd left. The only person to notice my retreat was Raku. He paused in lifting his cup and stared at me with eyes narrowed. I winked at him and threw up a V-peace sign even though I knew he wouldn't understand it. He rolled his eyes at me, but there was a smile at the corner of his lips. And then I was gone.

I smiled as I walked. Raku was a good kid, and so was his brother. The way they looked out for each other was the special, sibling bond that every single child dreamed of. They were lucky to have each other. And really, most of the kids at that orphanage had seemed to depend on and help each other. Somehow I got the feeling that those kids would be alright. At least, I really hoped so. I had given them all that I could at this point. All of the money I had, an afternoon of fun, and food for the day. Hopefully it was enough to get them through the tough times they seemed to be in now. Who knows? There could always be an economy turn around or something like that.

I was wondering about the possibility of a spontaneous turn of the economy and the nobility waking up and not being jerks when there was a subtle shift in the air, and a sound of ground crunching under feet close to me.

Catching my breath I ducked down and twisted to turn around and also to place the closest building wall at my back. I stared into the gloom all around me, my heartbeat getting faster and adrenaline beginning to pump through my veins.

There. Two shapes coming out of the shadows to my left. Two big bulky shapes that turned out to be two big guys in the soft starlight.

_And I bet they don't want to sell me Thin Mints._ I thought as I sized them up.

They didn't look very smart if their arrogant, inelegant strut was anything to go by. And it looked like they had knives at their waists but no big swords, spears, clubs or anything that could hit me from faraway.

_Unless they actually know how to throw knives._ I thought to myself as I inched my hand towards my pocket where the Swiss army knife was.

"Well, look at this. A young woman out so late at night on her own. That is not a proper thing to do." Said the guy closer to me. He was slightly taller than the other guy though both of them were well a foot above me in height.

"No, it truly is not a proper thing for a proper woman to do. Which means you must not be a proper woman."

_Gods, I really hate that word. If I ever use the word_ 'proper'_ again, I hope the earth splits open and eats me._ I had my knife in my hand, and I was drawing it out slowly while keeping it hidden in the folds of my dress.

"And if you are not a proper woman, then I guess there is no reason to treat you like one."

With that as the apparent end to their little monologue, the first guy ran at me, his big hands aiming to grasp at my shoulder/head area. He didn't quite make it though, as I dropped down slightly, crouching with my knees bent and aimed my own punch directly up into his jaw from below.

Big-guy-numero-uno staggered back from the unexpected hit, and the surprising force behind it. Obviously they had thought I was going to go with the shrinking and shrieking strategy. Hah! Not likely dudes.

Although my knuckles now felt pretty sore. These guys definitely had some muscle mass to them.

Big-guy-numero-duo was headed for me now, and he'd pulled his knife out after seeing me deck his buddy. I swung my own knife open and slashed up to parry the oncoming attack.

Suddenly the first guy reached out to grab me and I twisted out of his way while still avoiding the second guy's knife, but these two were smart and they had caged me against the wall. Maybe leaving myself with no escape had been a bad idea.

The second guy's knife slashed at me again and I twisted to parry it and as I did so, the first guy grabbed for me again. I ducked to avoid him, and thought I had been successful until I felt the pull of the shawl.

The big guy jerked the on shawl wrapped around me, and as it caught my neck and jerked me back, I suddenly realized why I didn't wear scarves or anything around my neck like this. Before I could come up with any sort of protest or counter strike, the guy had used my shawl to pull me back and send me slamming into the wall. Then he punched me right in the face.

I saw stars. What kind of bastard punches a girl in the face? I know I'd punched him first, but that was seriously a douche-bag move. Granted, this guy was ganging up with his buddy and attacking me anyway, so he was a pretty big jackass right from the start. But he'd punched me, hard, and it had been a while since anyone had hit me or I'd had any practice. So the punch, combined with the collision against the wall, I was feeling a little dizzy.

The two guys were saying something to each other, but I wasn't really paying attention to their words. Simply aiming for the big shapes in front of me, I slashed out hard with my knife and then jerked my leg out in a roundhouse kick that destroyed my balance and sent me landing onto my butt. It was worth it though, my knife had definitely cut something, though I wasn't sure how effective a cut it had been, and my kicked had caused a grunt of pain. Both attacks had caused the guys to back up a bit and shout and swear loudly.

"_Stay away from me_!" I screamed with a definite hiss to the words. The guys laughed or growled at me or something, but I couldn't really tell. Did I have a concussion? I don't think so…I couldn't feel any blood running down my head or anything, but there was cloudiness that I was trying to clear from my brain. I changed my grip on the knife in my hand and blinked to clear my vision.

And then there was a horse. The transition was _that_ fast. I was trying to figure out how to deal with these two bastards, and there was a loud, whinnying stallion very close by. Like _right there,_ close by.

The stallion reared up and kicked the closet big guy right in his gut. He flew away quite a few feet then slammed down into the ground again shouting in terror the whole time. After he hit the ground, he didn't move or speak.

The second big guy—who was actually the first big guy-the one that I had hit and had hit me back—was quicker to move out of the way. He pulled his own knife out and slashed it towards the horse and the figure on it. Cause apparently there was someone riding on the horse that had suddenly just dropped out of the sky. Which I guess makes sense—the there being a person on the horse, not the horse falling from the sky, but hey I came out of the water right?—but in my fuddled state I guess I hadn't thought of it much. To be fair, I was fighting splitting head pain, and also there hadn't been much time to think about things. The horse and rider had shown up in a burst of being, and then started to rescue me. And just as quickly apparently, I realized that the first big guy was down for the count and the horse's rider was standing over me.

My hero. Apparently. A knight in shining armor to ride up and save the day as I played the damsel in distress. A role I vehemently disliked, but that didn't mean I wasn't grateful to the poor sap who'd helped me.

"Must you always get yourself into troubling situations?" my 'hero' asked with a somewhat exasperated sigh.

I blinked for a moment, at the familiarity of the voice and the vaguely insulting words, and my vision was suddenly much clearer. "Oh it's you. Well it's ok to vehemently dislike you I guess."

General looked at me with his usual cool aloofness, and out of the corner of my eye I could see the prone forms of both bastard men who'd been attacking me. General looked over at them for a moment. "I will be informing someone about those. It will be taken care of." He said with his usual cool, "I'm above you, be grateful I'm speaking, or doing anything for you" voice.

"Well that's very kind of you I suppose. Just about as kind of you to rescue me. Must be a horrible inconvenience for you." Somehow, even though he'd just helped me out in a _big_ way, I couldn't seem to stop with the passive-aggressive attitude that always came out around him. Except for the times when I was being just plain aggressive.

"Are you injured?" was his only response. I realized then that I hadn't, in fact, moved throughout the entire conversation.

"Um, I might be in shock. Not really sure. Hence the shock. But I hit my head." I said the last sentence in a vaguely sing-song way and the tune I used brought a hazy memory to mind of a green cucumber singing about how he loved his lips. Or perhaps that was a result of hitting my head. With me, it's hard to tell sometimes.

I heard a sigh again, and then suddenly, there were arms and a chest, but there was no ground.

"Hey, you've picked me up again." I felt like I should be a little startled, but I really just felt this vague sense of indifference and a little bit of…safety maybe?

"We should be on our way, and you do not seem to be in the position to move yourself." General replied as he carried me to his horse.

"But you've picked me up before. And you always do it so easy. Like I'm a flower. A delicate flower. I'm not though; I'm heavy. Because I have muscle. But it's heavy."

I thought I heard a very faint chuckle, but I think I was imagining it. Then I felt myself sitting on a horse. I love horses. They are strong, majestic creatures. I am too. What wonderful things to have in common. The horse shifted under me, and I felt a hard body slide into place behind me. Oh. We were going to ride together then. Well I suppose that's what the knight and fair lady do after the rescue. They ride off together. We'll just have to replace the blazing sunset with the dim starlight and call it good.

"Let us return before yet another disaster befalls us." General said, but his voice was lacking its usual snark. Or maybe I was imaging it. Yes, that's probably more true.

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**So...yes. Can I offer the excuse that I was out of the country for this late update? No, since I did in fact have internet access and my laptop in the hard, cruel world of England (majorly awesome place) I have no excuse. I'm terribly sorry, I really am. So this prompts me to give forth some confessions.**

**1: as should be obvious, I have lost the burning drive to write this. Probably because I read this manga, and began this fanfic, what? 5 whole years ago? Way back in 2009 guys. That's was seriously like a majorly different point in my life. I was a homeschooled, high school student then. I'm a second year college student who has spent a semester abroad now. I seriously love other fandoms, and while I do still love Red River and hold that Ramses is a sexy beast who was denied a better ending, I am too carried away by other sexy beasts that I am imagining stories for. That being said, I STILL PLAN TO FINISH THIS FIC AS SOON AS I CAN KICK MY OWN ASS AND GET IT DONE!**

**Which leads to 2: this fic is like, only halfway done. And that's not even counting the sequel I've already got mostly planned out. Honestly, this thing goes on forever; I'm one of those writers. The ones who not only take forever to update, but the kind who can't bear the end the story cause look! Look at all these plot twists I can put in it!**

**So...we're getting to a point here where I can split this fic into two parts. Do people want me to get to my-halfway and then start an "Under...Sun Part 2"? Or to just keep posting them in here. Cause I for one, would feel intimidated to start on a fic that's got like, 150 chapters in it. But I also kinda feel like it would be silly to post things in a "Part 2" fic. But, what does everyone else think?**


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